for several years. In 1885 he joined the Le Mans Chamber of Commerce, for which he was secretary in 1888 and president in 1904. He was an inspector of technical education, and founded and supported the Le Mans professional school. He was an administrator of the Bank of France until his death. He was Mayor of Sainte-Jamme from 1861 to 1871 and from 1878 to 1900. In 1887 he ran for election as general councilor for the Ballon canton, but failed. Chappée was compromised in the very public scandal of the Talvende bank. Felix Talvende, the director of the bank, was arrested for bankruptcy on 18 March 1889. He was charged with excessive personal expenses, engaging in contracts he could not satisfy and providing inaccurate accounts, and sentenced to eight months in prison. Chappée was a member of the bank's board of directors, and had to testify as a witness at the trial. Despite this, he was made a knight of the Legion of Honour on 11 July 1891, but was never promoted to officer of the Legion. Armand Chappée died on 22 September 1922. After his death his two sons, Jules and Louis, squabbled over the company. In 1929 the Antoigné and Port-Brillet factories were merged with the Société Générale de Fonderie. The forges finally closed in 2011. Notes References Sources 1835 births 1922 deaths French industrialists 19th-century French businesspeople Mayors of places in Pays de la Loire Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur