Fronde

Fronde, series of revolts against the French monarchy between 1648 and 1653, during the reign of King Louis XIV. Begun as a protest by the Parlement of Paris (the chief judicial body in France until the late 1780s) and its supporters against the heavy taxation policies of the king's chief minister, Cardinal Jules Mazarin, the Fronde (the French word for “catapult”) evolved into armed insurrection. Order was restored in March 1649 when government forces led by Louis II, Prince de Condé, stopped the rebellion and effected a settlement between the Parlement and the monarchy. In 1650, a second phase of the revolt began with a struggle for power by the aristocracy against the Crown. Their unsuccessful venture marked the last insurrection of the French nobility against the monarchy and reinforced the power of the king.