There were 8 wars of religion in France. This was a bloody time - all over religion and mixed in with politics. It really explains why the French think your personal beliefs should be personal.

First war- 1562-1563: It began with a massacre at Wassy. Françoise de Guise charged with his troops and killed a lot of Protestants. The country was divided and Catherine de Médecis tried to bring about some peace. In 1563, the Edit d'Ambroise said that the Protestants could worship in a few reserved places.

Second war - 1567-1568: This came about because the Protestant worship service was only for the nobles. There was great rivalry  in the royal court between the prince of Condé and Henri duc d'Anjou. Both took up arms and fought until the Edit d'Ambroise was re-established.

Third war - ( 1568-1570): Peace was fragile. The Protestant and Catholic armies fought over western France and in the southern Loire valley. The Protestants fortified themselves on the coast at La Rochelle and waited for some help from the English. Le Prince de Condé was killed in a battle and Coligny became the leader of the Calvinists. L'Edit de Saint-Germain was signed and the Protestants felt safe in La Rochelle.

Fourth war - ( 1572-1573) : This was brutal. During the marriage of Marguerite de Valois and Henri de Bouron, there was an attempt on the life of Coligny. The Protestants wanted revenge.

The king and his government decided to surround the leaders of the Protestants and execute them. The doors of the city were closed and the Protestants were trapped. Le Massacre dela Saint- Barthlémy left 300, 000 dead in Paris. The rest of the Protestants fled to the south of France where they organized a republic.

Fifth war- ( 1574-1576): A plot by the Malcontents opened the war and there were many revolts and protests. People were angry over the absolute power of the king. The Malcontents and the Protestants fought the government of Catherine de Médicis until another edict brought freedom of worship for all.

Sixth war - (May 1577- September 1577): This time the king was all along against the Protestants, the Catholics and the political men of his kingdom. He was trying to get back absolute power and was suspicious of everyone.

Seventh war- (1579-1580): Catherine de Médecis gave the Protestants places of safety for worship. But then the Protestants didn't want to give them back! The Catholic family of Les Guises governed most of France.  Henri de Navarre, was a Protestant and could understand the problems. But he was leading a party life with his wife, Marguerite de Valois.

Eighth war- (1585-1598): Things got very complicated and this was a long war for power. Henri III did not have any children, so the throne went to Henri de Navarre. Since the latter was a protestant, the Catholics refused to have him as king. The Guise family tried to take over the power. Henri III tried to align himself with the Guises, but then he tried to kill them. That made the Catholics angy, so Henri III took the side of Henri de Navarre. In the end Henri III was assassinated by a monk and Henri de Navarre became Henri IV, king of France. He converted to Catholicism in order to do this and the Protestants didn't support him.

         Henri IV established some religious peace through l'Édit de Nantes. This gave everyone a liberty of conscience to choose what religion they wanted. It gave limited freedom to Protestant worship and equal civil liberties with the Catholics. There were safe places established for the Protestants, but after all the fighting, there weren't many left.

      With all this fighting, you can see why religion, especially supported by politicians, makes the French nervous. They get upset when our leaders ( no matter which party) declare, "God bless America". The French believe church and government should be completely separate with no mention of either one by the other.