M. Toutin-Laroche

A slender individual, he used to be a candle manufacturer and was known for his discovery of a mixture of suet and stearin. At the start of the novel he has moved on and is a city councilor, a director of the Crédit Viticole bank and an overseer of the Société Générale des Ports du Maroc-a dubious investment scheme. Saccard refers to it at one point as “The Arabian Nights Inc.” Saccard befriends him in order to ensure that his own questionable property dealings are passed through the city council.
He is made a member of the Senate by the emperor toward the end of the novel.