Share of 100 francs issued in Paris in 1909.

Born in Tournus, Saône-et-Loire in 1854, Ambroise-François Parnaland arrived in Paris in 1890 as a chartered accountant. Like his brother Louis, he was fascinated by mechanics and they both filed several patents for various mechanisms. In 1895, Ambroise-François founded the company Parnaland Frères to exploit his patented inventions. In 1896, he filed his first patent for a camera, the Photothéagraphe and quickly launched the Parnaland camera under the name Cinepar. The movement of the film is then carried out by a piston and the film is not perforated. After other clumsy attempts, Parnaland achieves near perfection with a new patent having designed an efficient movement mechanism.

In 1904, Parnaland collaborated with Emmanuel Ventujol, a former colleague of Lumière, and released several films. On this date, Ventujol left the company and Charles Jourjon, a lawyer, decided to provide him with financial support. In 1907, the limited company Films l'Eclair, former Parnaland establishments, was created by Jourjon and Parnaland.

But the beginnings of the Eclair company are difficult and expensive (a castle in Epinay was bought to serve as a workshop and office). Parnaland, a somewhat naive partner, is quickly removed from the management. Between 1910 and 1911, he again manufactured and marketed cameras, but business did not turn out well. He died in 1913. The flourishing Eclair company becomes the third French house after Pathé and Gaumont and triumphs on the screens with the adventures of Zigomar.