parlement: Opposition to Royal Reforms

From the late 16th cent. onward the parlements systematically opposed royal reform measures. They joined the Fronde (1648–53), the abortive aristocratic revolution against Cardinal Mazarin. A century later in the parlements protests against a tax on all income from property, including offices such as judgeships, aroused such an uproar that the project eventually collapsed. In the decade after the conclusion (1763) of the Seven Years War, the continuance of wartime taxes was vigorously opposed by the parlements.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Attempts to Abolish the Parlements
• Opposition to Royal Reforms
• Origins
• Duties and Powers
• Judges
• Bibliography

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