During one event , the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew ( 1572 ) , some ten to twenty thousand men , women , and children were massacred by Catholic mobs , chiefly in Paris , but also throughout France .
People were especially horrified by the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew ( 1572 ) , in which some 20,000 men , women , and children were massacred , chiefly in Paris , but also throughout France , in a three-day period .