Stuck in a traffic jam?

Things could be worse. Consider the fact that after more than twenty assassination attempts, Henry IV was finally stabbed to death while he was stuck in a Paris traffic jam on May 14th, 1610. Henry IV, known as the Vert Gallant, or the ‘gay blade’, may have been well loved by some, but not by the royalist Catholics. Guide de Paris Mysterieux by Francois Carredec(Claude Tchoux, Editions Princesse) describes his fateful excursion along the Rue Ferronnerie. He was headed to the Arsenal to see his friend Sully who was in poor health. When his coach arrived at Rue Ferronnerie, the road was blocked by a wine wagon and another wagon filled with hay. The royal escort had taken a shortcut through the cemetery to save some time and meet the royal carriages at Rue St. Denis. This was just the opportunity needed by the fanatic Francois Ravaillac to tear out of a shop at No. 11, climb up on carriage wheel and stab Henri IV three times with a kitchen knife which he had stolen from the Three Pigeon Auberge across from St.-Roch church. Paris was the backdrop for much fighting during the Religious Wars culminating in the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre (August 24, 1572) which left 5000 dead just in Paris. It’s important to realize that the Protestants in Paris belonged primarily to the wealthy classes of princes, intellectuals or merchants whereas many Catholics led by Duc de Guise and the powerful Catholic League had the support of Paris’s less privileged citizens. You can get a good idea of the mayhem and royal intrigue by picking up the movie Queen Margot based on Alexandre Dumas’s novel. After you’ve had a chance to see the movie or read Dumas’s book, make a trip to the Musee Carnavalet to visit one of its rooms devoted to the Valois reign and the Religious battles fought in the streets of Paris.https://www.v1.paris.fr/en/Visiting/SITE.ASP?SITE=02005 Musee Carnavalet is located in the Marais district on the Right Bank. Metro: St. Paul. 23 Rue de Sevigne, 75003. Tel. 01 44 59 58 58. Remember the first Sunday of the month, museum visits are FREE!