Editing Governor (section)

===France===
During the [[Ancien Régime in France]], the representative of the king in his [[Provinces of France|provinces]] and cities was the '''''gouverneur'''''. Royal officers were chosen from the highest [[French nobility|nobility]], and provincial and city governors (oversight of provinces and cities was frequently combined) were predominantly military positions in charge of defense and policing. Provincial governors{{spaced ndash}}also called "[[Lieutenant-General (France)|lieutenant general]]s"{{spaced ndash}}also had the ability to convoke provincial [[parlement]]s, provincial estates and municipal bodies. The title "gouverneur" first appeared under [[Charles VI of France|Charles VI]]. The ordinance of Blois of 1579 reduced their number to 12, but an ordinance of 1779 increased their number to 39 (18 first-class governors, 21 second-class governors). Although in principle, they were the king's representatives and their charges could be revoked at the king's will, some governors had installed themselves and their heirs as a provincial dynasty. The governors were at the height of their power from the middle of the 16th to the middle of the 17th century, but their role in provincial unrest during the civil wars led [[Cardinal Richelieu]] to create the more tractable positions of [[intendant]]s of finance, policing and justice, and in the 18th century the role of provincial governors was greatly curtailed.