The Ferme Générale was, in ancien régime France, essentially a franchised customs and excise operation which collected duties on behalf of the king, through 6-years adjudications. The major tax collectors in that system were known as the fermiers généraux.
The history of these taxes dated back to the Roman occupation of France, a system known as the portoria . This method of taxation was continued after the departure of the Romans by Charlemagne. These taxes were retained throughout the Middle Ages into the 16th and 17th centuries. However, collection proved to be a difficult proposition. In 1598 Sully effectively privatised collection of the taxes. The process was further developed under the aegis of Jean-Baptiste Colbert Minister of Finance to Louis XIV. The Ferme Générale itself was established in 1726.
The Ferme générale was an impopular institution, with the fermiers enriching themselves using the country's taxes. It was suppressed during the French Revolution. During the Reign of Terror, the former fermiers were prosecuted. The former fermier, the scientist Antoine Lavoisier, was guillotined.