François de Mandelot

François de Mandelot, seigneur de Pacy (c. 1529-11 November 1588) was governor of the Lyonnais from 1571 to 1588 under Charles IX and Henri III. Raised in the household of the duke of Nemours as a page, he became the lieutenant of his patrons ordinance company. Having become the governor of the Lyonnais on the death of Saint-André in 1562, Nemours would subsequently appoint Mandelot as the lieutenant-general of the governate.

In 1571 Mandelot found himself further elevated, as Nemours resigned from the governorship in his favour, a practice that had been largely prohibited in the early sixteenth century. In this position Mandelot was thrust into a crisis as order collapsed in France in the wake of the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew. Mandelot was instructed by the king to arrest leading Protestants in the town, and to seize their estates. Mandelot complied after some deliberation, however by now Charles had countermanded his instructions. While Mandelot was busy in the suburbs dealing with a disturbance, a militant crowd broke into the prison and massacred the Protestants held there.

Under Henri III, Mandelot found himself in conflict with one of the kings mignons the duc d'Épernon who installed one of his clients in the citadel of Lyon after having purchased the office. Mandelot and the town council fought against the appointment and eventually succeeded in getting it overturned. Upon his death in 1588, Charles Emmanuel, Duke of Nemours succeeded him as governor of the Lyonnais.