Jean-Baptiste Colbert bol najbližší spolupracovník kráľa Ľudovíta XIV. - "kráľa Slnko". Bol tvorca hospodárskej politiky štátu, minister financií, priemyslu, obchodu a kolónií. Uviedol do francúzskeho života nový hospodársky systém - merkantilizmus. Wikipedia
“What should be done to help you? Let us be!”
Que faut-il faire pour vous aider?
Laissez-nous faire!
Alleged conversation between French Finance Minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert and a merchant named Legendre (1680), quoted in, among others, "The End of Laissez-Faire" (1926) by John Maynard Keynes
Arthur John Sargent (1899), The Economic Policy of Colbert. p. 65
Quoted in: William Sharp McKechnie (1896). The State & the Individual: An Introduction to Political Science, with Special Reference to Socialistic and Individualistic Theories https://archive.org/details/stateindividuali00mckeuoft. p. 77