In 888 the west Frankish king Charles the Fat was . There were several candidates to be king in his place. Because he was a grandson of Charles the Bald, Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia, Baldwin was eligible to be king. But he did not compete for the crown of western Francia. Instead Baldwin joined others in trying to convince the East Frankish king Arnulf to also take the west Frankish crown. But Arnulf was not interested. Odo, Count of Paris, was elected king But Odo did not want Baldwin to gaining control of the abbey of St. Bertin. This was a rich prize and caused Baldwin to not support Odo. The new king attacked Baldwin at Bruges but could not defeat him. Baldwin continued moving his borders to the south and gained control of Artois. He also got control of the important abbey of St. Vaast. When control of the abbey was given to Archbishop Fulk of Reims in 900, Baldwin had him killed. When his attempts to expand further into the upper Somme River valley were opposed by Herbert I, Count of Vermandois Baldwin also had him killed.