Les consuls de l’État ecclésiastique au xviii^e siècle, au cœur du dispositif d’information de la France à Rome

The French consul and vice-consuls in the ecclesiastical State were informers with a close relationship with the ambassador of the King and Versailles. Using the Vidau family as an example, this contribution considers the way in which this network of information functioned, as well as the personal strategies employed by the consuls in their correspondence, which testify to a demand for recognition and a desire for familial success, as well as a harsh representation of the economic realities of the ecclesiastical State.