 He showed his administrative ability during a famine in his "généralité", and so on 28 August 1725 he was appointed Lieutenant General of Police of Paris, i.e.head of the Paris Police, succeeding Nicolas Ravot d'Ombreval, who succeeded him as "intendant" of the "généralité" of Tours.As Lieutenant General of Police, René Hérault ordered that the sewage works and refuse dumps be relocated from the city of Paris into suburbs further afield.