When France invaded the Palatinate in September 1688 to enforce their claim, these wider connections meant the conflict rapidly escalated and contributed to the outbreak of the 1689–1697 Nine Years War. The French were forced to withdraw in 1689 but before doing so, they destroyed much of Heidelberg, another 20 substantial towns and numerous villages. This destruction was systematically applied across a large section of the Rhineland but especially the Palatinate, which was raided again in 1693; the devastation shocked much of Europe. France later renounced its claim in the 1697 Treaty of Ryswick.