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 Day the richest and perhaps most famous copper mining district in the world from the 16th century to the 1830s. The population, wealth and activity in St Day declined steadily from about 1870 onwards, today the population is smaller than in 1841. It is now essentially a residential village. The Wheal Gorland mine is the type locality for the minerals: clinoclase, cornwallite and liroconite. A St Day mine site has been used for short-oval stock car racing for many years. Stock car drivers from Cornwall have won 11 World Championships. The population of St Day was 1,821 at the census 2011