During the 17th century , Pierre Corneille , Jean Racine , MoliÃ re Blaise Pascal and RenÃ Descartes were the main authors . During the 17th century , plays by Pierre Corneille , Jean Racine and MoliÃ re , as well as the moral and philosophical books by Blaise Pascal and RenÃ Descartes , deeply influenced the French aristocracy leaving an important new niche for authors of the following decades , such as Jean de La Fontaine , who was an important poet from this century .