page_title: Paris in the 17th century
section_title: Turmoil and the Fronde
hierarchical_section_title: Paris in the 17th century / Paris under Louis XIV / Turmoil and the Fronde
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Vue du fort Royal fait en l'année 1650 dans le jardin du Palais cardinal pour le divertissement du Roi.
context_page_description: Paris in the 17th century was the largest city in Europe, with a population of half a million, matched in size only by London. It was ruled in turn by three monarchs; Henry IV, Louis XIII, and Louis XIV, and saw the building of some of the city's most famous parks and monuments, including the Pont Neuf, the Palais Royal, the newly joined Louvre and Tuileries Palace, the Place des Vosges, and the Luxembourg Garden. It was also a flourishing center of French science and the arts; it saw the founding of the Paris Observatory, the French Academy of Sciences and the first botanical garden in Paris, which also became the first park in Paris open to the public. The first permanent theater opened, the Comédie-Française was founded, and the first French opera and French ballets had their premieres. Paris became the home of the new Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, and of some of France's most famous writers, including Pierre Corneille, Jean Racine, La Fontaine and Moliere. Urban innovations for the city included the first street lighting, the first public transport, the first building code, and the first new aqueduct since Roman times.
context_section_description: Richelieu died in 1642, and Louis XIII in 1643. At the death of his father, Louis XIV was only five years old, and his mother, Anne of Austria, became Regent. Richelieu's successor, Cardinal Mazarin, decreed a series of heavy new taxes upon the Parisians to finance the ongoing war.  A new law in 1644 required those who had built homes close to the city walls to pay heavy penalties;  in 1646 new tax was imposed on the middle-class to finance a loan to the state of 500,000 pounds, and taxes were imposed on all fruits and vegetables brought into the city.  In 1647, a new law required that those who had built homes on property officially belonging to the King would have to re-purchase the rights to the land.  In 1648, Mazarin informed the noble members of three of the highest civil councils in the city, the Grand Council, the Chambre des comptes and the Cour des Aides that they would not be paid any salary for the next four years. These measures caused a rebellion within the Parlement of Paris, which was not an elected assembly but a high court made up of prominent noblemen.  On May 13, 1648, the Parlement called a meeting in the Chambre Saint-Louis, the main hall of the Palace on the île de la Cité, to "reform the abuses of the State".
  Faced with the united opposition of the leaders of Paris, Mazarin backed down and accepted many of their proposals, and waited for an opportunity to strike back.  The victory of the French army led by Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Condé over the Spanish at the Battle of Lens  gave him the opportunity he needed.  An arranged a special mass at the Cathedral of Notre Dame, with the presence of the young King, to celebrate the victory, and brought soldiers into the city to line the street for the procession before the ceremony.  As soon as the ceremony at Notre-Dame concluded, Mazarin had three prominent members of the Parlement arrested.
  When news of the arrests spread around Paris, riots broke out in the streets, and more than twelve hundred barricades were erected on the Île de la Cité, near the Place de Greve, les Halles, around the University, and in the Faubourg Saint-Germain.  There were several violent confrontations in the streets between soldiers and the Parisians.   The leaders of the Parlement were received at the Palais-Royal, where Anne of Austria and the young King were living, and she agreed, after some hesitation, to release the imprisoned member of the Parlement.
  This was the beginning of the Fronde, a long struggle between Mazarin and the Parlement of Paris and its supporters, and then between Mazarin and two princes of the royal family. The signing of the Peace of Westphalia on May 15, 1648, ending the Thirty Years' War, allowed Mazarin to bring his army, led by the Prince of Condé, back toward Paris.  On the night of 5–6 January, Mazarin, the Regent and the young king were smuggled out of Paris to the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The Parlement declared Mazarin a public enemy and called upon the Parisians to take up arms.  The arrival of the royal army under de Condé put down the first uprising, but the struggle between Mazarin and the Parlement continued.  On the night of February 6–7, Mazarin, in disguise, left Paris for Le Havre.  On February 16, Condé, the commander of the royal army, changed sides and demanded to be the leader of the Fronde. The Fronde quickly split into rival factions, while Mazarin did not have the funds to raise an army to defeat it.  The standoff between Mazarin and the Fronde continued from 1648 until 1653. At times, the young Louis XIV was held under virtual house arrest in the Palais-Royal. He and his mother were forced to flee the city twice to the royal château at Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
  In 1652, Mazarin made the error of enlisting seven to eight thousand German mercenaries with his own money to fight against the French army.  The Fronde rose again, this time led by two prominent nobles, the Prince de Condé,  Gaston, Duke of Orléans, the Governor of Paris and the younger brother of the King, against Mazarin.  At the beginning of May, the royal 
caption: The Fort royal was constructed in the gardens of the Palais-Cardinal to teach the young Louis XIV about the art of fortifications
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