paulette, in pre-Revolutionary France, royal edict of 1604 that resulted in making offices hereditary, a step in the creation of a permanent class of judicial magistrates, the noblesse de robe. The edict provided that, for an annual payment to the crown of one-sixtieth of an office’s value, that office could be sold or bequeathed rather than revert to the crown on the death of the holder. The edict took its name from Charles Paulet, who proposed the measure and obtained control of the collection of payments.
The paulette provided the crown with needed revenue, although it also diminished the king’s power of appointment. The officeholders, desiring to gain complete disposal of their offices, were eager both to make the annual payment (droit annuel) and to ensure its renewal every nine years.