Magdelaine de La Grange (c.1641—1679) was a French

French people

The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

 fortune-teller involved in the Affair of the Poisons. Her arrest in 1677 marked the opening of the official investigation. She appealed to François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois

François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois

François Michel Le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois was the French Secretary of State for War for a significant part of the reign of Louis XIV. Louvois and his father, Michel le Tellier, would increase the French Army to 400,000 soldiers, an army that would fight four wars between 1667 and 1713...

 claiming that she had information about other crimes of high importance. Louvois reported to the King, who told Gabriel Nicolas de la Reynie

Gabriel Nicolas de la Reynie

Gabriel Nicolas de la Reynie is considered to be the founder of the first modern police force.-Early career:Born in 1625 in Limoges, France to a poor family, Gabriel Nicolas made a wealthy marriage in 1645 and took the name of Reynie, a minor lordship with an annual income of 200 pounds. He was a...

, who, among other things, was the chief of the Paris police, to root out the poisoners. She was hanged in 1679 for forgery and murder.