ABSTRACT
The early years of Louis XIV’s reign were dominated by the Fronde, that series of civil disturbances which lasted from 1648 to 1652. Since the Fronde and the king’s victory, the balance of power in the state had swung decisively back to the royal side, and with the king willing, as Louis was, to exercise that power in person, he was likely to encounter but muted opposition. The decisive moment of this reign came in February 1673, when Louis produced regulations which stipulated that the Parlemen’s remonstrances against royal enactments sent to the court could only be made in future after registration. Louis did not feel himself free to waive altogether the ancient right of remonstrance, which traditionally modified the excesses of royal sovereignty. More than any of his predecessors, Louis XIV maintained the principle that needs of state always justified the abrogation of customary rights and privileges.
