Background : façade of the building at 3, rue d'Antin, Paris, 1920s -Foreground : members of the Restouble family - BNP Paribas Historical Archives

A bank is an area for finance. It is also a living place for the men and women who work there. Sometimes, a whole dynasty of employees can be found in a single establishment. One example is the Restouble family, three generations of which have worked at Paribas. This is a family history at the heart of the bank.

A bank is a place of work, but also a living area where couples meet and families are born. Martine Chabrol, who retired from the group in 1999, tells us about her grandfather, who worked as a “halberdier” and office employee at the Paribas equities department in the first half of the 20th century.

From Hôtel Crillon to the bank

Emile Restouble was born in 1871, one year before Paribas was established. He worked reception for some years at the Hôtel Crillon, the famous Paris luxury hotel on Place de la Concorde. In the 1900s thanks to a recommendation by a colleague at the Crillon, Restouble joined Paribas as a halberdier. This was above all a visible reception job in full uniform, complete with beard and halberd. A halberdier would welcome visitors to the bank in the same way as an usher. It was necessary to give a good impression of the establishment at both the Crillon and headquarters of Paribas, which is why recommendations often included an investigation in the individual’s morals. Emile Restouble worked at 3 rue d’Antin, Paris, the prestigious head office of Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas. The 18th century mansion was where Napoleon married Josephine and had become the headquarters of Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas in 1872.

Clients in the central hall of the branch at 3 rue d’Antin – BNP Paribas Historical Archives

A second career at the bank

Emile Restouble progressed after several years as a halberdier to become an employee in the equities department. His second profession was far different from the first and introduced him to office life in the bank.

Emile Restouble and his colleagues in a Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas office at 3 rue d’Antin, circa 1930 – BNP Paribas Historical Archives, Restouble-Chabrol Collection

In 1940 several departments fled Paris. Emile Restouble worked with his equities colleagues at château de Landifer in Baugé-en-Anjou, a property the bank had acquired in 1938, where he was to remain until the end of the war before returning to Paris. His son, Emile Auguste, had also joined Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas. The family’s history was intertwined with the bank’s…

Château de Landifer in Beaugé- en –Anjou (France) – BNP Paribas Historical Archives

(Re)discover the second episode of the #SagaRestouble at Paribas : Emile Auguste and Olga, the parents of Martine Chabrol Restouble

SEE THE PHOTO GALLERY – Memories of summer camp at château de Landifer (France) …

Several administrative departments withdrew to château de Landifer during the Second World War, but many Paribas employees also sent their children there for summer camp! Paribas had made this pretty Loire valley estate a colonie de vacances from the 1940s until 1983.

Departure from Montparnasse (France) railway station for summer camp at Landifer in the 1950s - BNP Paribas Historical Archives

Children on a train departing for Le Mans (France) in the 1950s - BNP Paribas Historical Archives

Administrative building, Landifer estate, 1950s - BNP Paribas Historical Archives

Walks in Landifer in the 1950s - BNP Paribas Historical Archives

Games in the open-air pool in the 1950 - BNP Paribas Historical Archives

Walks in Landifer in the 1950s - BNP Paribas Historical Archives

Outdoor games and adventures in the 1950s - BNP Paribas Historical Archives

Children playing in an orchestra at a fête in the 1950s – BNP Paribas Historical Archives

Show during a fête in the 1950s - BNP Paribas Historical Archives

At the canteen in the 1950s - BNP Paribas Historical Archives

The holidays end at Landifer, 1950s - BNP Paribas Historical Archives

School at Landifer during World War II – BNP Paribas Historical Archives

Pupils at school in Landifer during World War II - BNP Paribas Historical Archives