Paris in the 16th century wealthy Gondi family, for example, came to Paris at the invitation of Catherine de Medici; through her influence, one Gondi was soon named Marechal of France, and another was made the bishop of Paris. During most of the 16th century, the Kings of France kept Paris under their close personal control, and greatly reduced the power of the merchants and leaders of the guilds, who had previously played a large part in governing the city. The Provost of the merchants of Paris was elected by the merchants, but he could not take office until he was approved by the King.
St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in audio form. The St Bartholomew's Day Massacre is the setting for Tim Willocks' historical novel, "The Twelve Children of Paris" (Matthias Tannhauser Trilogy:2) (2013), and Ken Follett's book A Column of Fire, published in 2017. Follett gives several of the book's main characters a role in the massacre and the events leading up to it. St. Bartholomew's Day massacre The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre () in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations and a wave of Catholic mob violence, directed against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants) during the French Wars of Religion. Traditionally believed to have been instigated