Editing Michel de l'Hôpital (section)

===Edict of Saint-Germain===
On 3 January 1562, L'Hôpital gave a speech in front of the Paris ''Parlement'' in which he argued for the present necessity of religious toleration for Protestantism, as the only alternative to the kingdom descending into civil war. That same month he aided in the engineering of the [[Edict of Saint-Germain]], which provided formal toleration to Protestantism, pending the reconciliation of the church in a religious council, during the meeting at Saint-Germain, he admitted that the [[Edict of July]] had never been quietly repealed, with no window of its implementation.{{sfn|Sutherland|1980|p=128}} He was assisted in his efforts by Catherine, [[Gaspard II de Coligny|the Protestant Admiral Coligny]] and [[Theodore Beza]], the Protestant cleric.{{sfn|Roelker|1968|p=172}} The edict immediately ran into furious opposition from the ''Parlements'' and much of the Catholic nobility. A little taken aback, Catherine attempted to arrange another Colloquy, such as that which had occurred at Poissy, L'Hôpital took charge of outlining the subjects that would be debated at the conference, however it would be an ignominious failure, breaking down over the first topic of the agenda 'images', shortly after which it was dissolved.{{sfn|Knecht|2010|p=33}} L'Hôpital defended the necessity of the edict in front of the ''Parlement'', arguing the only alternative was the expulsion or execution of the Protestants, neither of which was a realistic course of action.{{sfn|Sutherland|1980|p=133}}

In the wake of the [[Massacre of Wassy]], the kingdom rapidly descended towards civil war, as Protestants began to take arms and seize towns. In the chaotic atmosphere, the Spanish ambassador hoped to gain advantage for his king, and moved that the influence of L'Hôpital was destructive on the crown due to his 'evil reputation', and thus hoping for his removal, however the crown did not oblige.{{sfn|Thompson|1909|p=137}}