Paris in the 16th century on September 5, 1557, thirty were from noble families. In 1561-62, the number of Protestants in Paris was estimated at between ten and fifteen thousand; in France as a whole, three million, or fifteen percent of the population. The Massacre of Saint-Bartholomew's Day on August 23–24, 1572 killed between two and three thousand Protestants; it was followed by a large-scale emigration of Protestants out of the city, primarily to Sedan, Montbeliard and Geneva. In 1598, with the Edict of Nantes, the Protestant were again able to open a church a Grigny, on the banks of the Seine outside the city.
Paris in the 16th century of buildings, the city expanded outward past the walls. The social geography of the city was much as it was in the Middle Ages. The commercial center was the port on the right bank, at the Place de Greve, where the City Hall is today. The main market was close by, at Les Halles. The University and several large monasteries were on the left bank; in the 16th century booksellers and printers opened near the university. In the first part of the century, when the King was absent, the center of administration was in the old Palais on the Île-de-la-Cité,