Editing Huguenots (section)

==History==
===Origins===
[[File:Massacre of the Vaudois of Merindol.jpg|thumb|upright|Persecution of the [[Waldensians]] in the [[Mérindol massacre|massacre of Mérindol]] in 1545]]
The availability of the Bible in [[vernacular]] languages was important to the spread of the Protestant movement and development of the Reformed Church in France. The country had a long history of struggles with the papacy (see the [[Avignon Papacy]], for example) by the time the [[Protestant Reformation]] finally arrived. Around 1294, a French version of the scriptures was prepared by the Roman Catholic priest, [[Guyart des Moulins|Guyard des Moulins]]. A two-volume illustrated folio paraphrase version based on his manuscript, by Jean de Rély, was printed in Paris in 1487.<ref>{{cite book|last=Darling|first=Charles William|title=Historical account of some of the more important versions and editions of the Bible|publisher=University of Wisconsin-Madison|year=1894|page=[https://archive.org/details/historicalaccou00darlgoog/page/n24 18]|url=https://archive.org/details/historicalaccou00darlgoog}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Bullen|first=G.|publisher=N. Trübner and Co.|year=1877|title=Catalogue of the loan collection of antiquities, curiosities, and appliances connected with the art of printing|page=[https://archive.org/details/catalogueloanco00goog/page/n169 107] (item 687)|url=https://archive.org/details/catalogueloanco00goog}}</ref>

The first known translation of the Bible into one of France's regional languages, [[Franco-Provençal language|Arpitan or Franco-Provençal]], had been prepared by the 12th-century pre-Protestant reformer [[Peter Waldo]] (Pierre de Vaux).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foucachon.com/Huguenots_Waldensians.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512214216/http://www.foucachon.com/Huguenots_Waldensians.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 May 2014|date=12 May 2014|access-date=4 June 2021 |title=The Sectarized People of God}}</ref> The Waldensians created fortified areas, as in [[Cabrières-d'Avignon|Cabrières]], perhaps attacking an abbey.<ref name="Lambert 389">[https://books.google.com/books?id=m76JkwMZjgcC&pg=PA389 Malcolm D. Lambert, ''Medieval Heresy: Popular Movements from the Gregorian Reform to the Reformation''], p. 389</ref> They were suppressed by [[Francis I of France|Francis I]] in 1545 in the [[Massacre of Mérindol]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hanna|first=William|title=The wars of the Huguenots|publisher=Robert Carter & Brothers|location=New York|year=1872|page=[https://archive.org/details/warsofhuguenots00hannuoft/page/27 27]|url=https://archive.org/details/warsofhuguenots00hannuoft|access-date=7 September 2009}}</ref>

Other predecessors of the Reformed church included the pro-reform and [[Gallicanism|Gallican]] Roman Catholics, such as [[Jacques Lefevre]] (c. 1455–1536). The Gallicans briefly achieved independence for the French church, on the principle that the religion of France could not be controlled by the Bishop of Rome, a foreign power.<ref>Margaret Ruth Miles, ''The Word Made Flesh: A History of Christian Thought'', Blackwell Publishing, 2005, p. 381 {{ISBN?}}</ref> During the Protestant Reformation, Lefevre, a professor at the [[University of Paris]], published his French translation of the New Testament in 1523, followed by the whole Bible in the French language in 1530.<ref>Paul Arblaster, Gergely Juhász, Guido Latré (eds) ''Tyndale's Testament'', Turnhout: Brepols, 2002, {{ISBN|2-503-51411-1}}, pp. 130–135</ref> [[William Farel]] was a student of Lefevre who went on to become a leader of the [[Reformation in Switzerland|Swiss Reformation]], establishing a Protestant republican government in Geneva. Jean Cauvin ([[John Calvin]]), another student at the University of Paris, also converted to Protestantism. Long after the sect was suppressed by Francis I, the remaining French [[Waldensians]], then mostly in the [[Luberon]] region, sought to join Farel, Calvin and the Reformation, and [[Pierre Robert Olivétan|Olivétan]] published a French Bible for them. The French Confession of 1559 shows a decidedly [[Calvinism|Calvinistic influence]].<ref>{{cite web |author=John Calvin, tr. Emily O. Butler |url=http://www.creeds.net/reformed/frconf.htm |title=The French Confession of Faith of 1559 |publisher=Creeds.net |access-date=2 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303005840/http://www.creeds.net/reformed/frconf.htm |archive-date=3 March 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Although usually Huguenots are lumped into one group, there were actually two types of Huguenots that emerged.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tylor |first1=Charles |title=The Huguenots in the seventeenth century: including the history of the Edict of Nantes, from its enactment in 1598 to its revocation in 1685 |date=1892 |publisher=Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent |location=London |page=3 |url=https://archive.org/stream/huguenotsinseven00tylo#page/n17/search/political+freedom |access-date=15 September 2018}}</ref> Since the Huguenots had political and religious goals, it was commonplace to refer to the Calvinists as "Huguenots of religion" and those who opposed the monarchy as "Huguenots of the state", who were mostly nobles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.renaissance-spell.com/Huguenots.html|title=The Huguenots|website=www.renaissance-spell.com|access-date=7 January 2020}}</ref>
* The Huguenots of religion were influenced by John Calvin's works and established Calvinist synods. They were determined to end religious oppression.
* The Huguenots of the state opposed the monopoly of power the Guise family had and wanted to attack the authority of the crown. This group of Huguenots from southern France had frequent issues with the strict Calvinist tenets that are outlined in many of John Calvin's letters to the synods of the Languedoc.

===Reformation and growth===
Early in his reign, [[Francis I of France|Francis I]] ({{reign|1515|1547}}) persecuted the old, pre-Protestant movement of [[Waldensians]] in southeastern France. Francis initially protected the Huguenot dissidents from [[Parlement]]ary measures seeking to exterminate them. After the 1534 [[Affair of the Placards]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.renaissance-amboise.com/dossier_renaissance/ses_evenements/affaire_des_placards/affaire_des_placards.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100318035222/http://www.renaissance-amboise.com/dossier_renaissance/ses_evenements/affaire_des_placards/affaire_des_placards.htm|url-status=dead|title=L'affaire des placards, la fin de la belle Renaissance|archive-date=18 March 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.herodote.net/histoire/evenement.php?jour=15341018 |title=18 octobre 1534: l'affaire des placards |publisher=Herodote.net |access-date=2 August 2010}}</ref> however, he distanced himself from Huguenots and their protection.<ref>Geoffrey Treasure, ''The Huguenots'' (New Haven CT: Yale University Press, 2013), 70–71. {{ISBN|9780300196191}}</ref>

Huguenot numbers grew rapidly between 1555 and 1561, chiefly amongst nobles and city dwellers. During this time, their opponents first dubbed the Protestants ''Huguenots''; but they called themselves {{lang|fr|reformés}}, or "Reformed". They organised their first national synod in 1558 in Paris.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07527b.htm |title=Catholic Encyclopedia: Huguenots |publisher=Newadvent.org |access-date=2 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090818042836/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07527b.htm |archive-date=18 August 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

By 1562, the estimated number of Huguenots peaked at approximately two million, concentrated mainly in the western, southern, and some central parts of France, compared to approximately sixteen million Catholics during the same period. Persecution diminished the number of Huguenots who remained in France.

===Wars of religion===
{{Main|French Wars of Religion}}
As the Huguenots gained influence and displayed their faith more openly, Roman Catholic hostility towards them grew, even though the French crown offered increasingly liberal [[concession (politics)|political concessions]] and edicts of toleration.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}

Following the accidental death of [[Henry II of France|Henry II]] in 1559, his son succeeded as King [[Francis II of France|Francis II]] along with his wife, the Queen Consort, also known as [[Mary, Queen of Scots]]. During the eighteen months of the reign of Francis II, Mary encouraged a policy of rounding up French Huguenots on charges of heresy and putting them in front of Catholic judges, and employing torture and burning as punishments for dissenters.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}} Mary returned to Scotland a widow, in the summer of 1561.<ref>Fischer, David Hackett, ''Champlain's Dream'', 2008, Alfred A. Knopf Canada {{ISBN?}}</ref>

In 1561, the Edict of Orléans declared an end to the persecution, and the [[Edict of Saint-Germain]] of January 1562 formally recognised the Huguenots for the first time. However, these measures disguised the growing tensions between Protestants and Catholics.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}

===Civil wars===
[[File:Michelade.jpeg|right|thumb|Huguenots massacring Catholics in the [[Michelade]] in [[Nîmes]]]]
These tensions spurred eight civil wars, interrupted by periods of relative calm, between 1562 and 1598. With each break in peace, the Huguenots' trust in the Catholic throne diminished, and the violence became more severe, and Protestant demands became grander, until a lasting cessation of open hostility finally occurred in 1598. The wars gradually took on a dynastic character, developing into an extended feud between the Houses of [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]] and [[House of Guise|Guise]], both of which—in addition to holding rival religious views—staked a claim to the French throne. The crown, occupied by the [[House of Valois]], generally supported the Catholic side, but on occasion switched over to the Protestant cause when politically expedient.<ref>Irene Scouloudi, ''Huguenots in Britain and France'' (Springer, 1987). {{ISBN?}}</ref><ref>Rebecca Jane McKee, and Randolph Vigne, ''The Huguenots: France, Exile and Diaspora'' (Apollo Books, 2013). {{ISBN?}}</ref>

[[File:Huguenot lovers on St. Bartholomew's Day.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|[[John Everett Millais|Millais]]' painting, ''[[A Huguenot|A Huguenot on St. Bartholomew's Day]]'']]
The [[French Wars of Religion]] began with the [[Massacre of Wassy|Massacre of Vassy]] on 1 March 1562, when dozens<ref name="CathEnc_Huguenot">[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07527b.htm Antoine Dégert, "Huguenots"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090818042836/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07527b.htm |date=18 August 2009 }}, ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', 1911</ref> (some sources say hundreds<ref>Thomas Martin Lindsay, ''A History of the Reformation'', 1907, p. 190: "six or seven hundred Protestants were slain"</ref>) of Huguenots were killed, and about 200 were wounded. It was in this year that some Huguenots destroyed the tomb and remains of Saint [[Irenaeus]] (d. 202), an early Church father and bishop who was a disciple of [[Polycarp]].<ref>John F. Nash ''Christianity: The One, the Many'' (2008) p. 104 {{ISBN?}}</ref> The [[Michelade]] by Huguenotes against Catholics was later on 29 September 1567.<ref>{{cite book |last1=French |first1=Lawrence Armand |title=Frog Town: A Portrait of a French Canadian Paris in New England by Lawrence Armand French |isbn=978-0761867760 |page=17 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0pr_AwAAQBAJ&q=huguenots+1573+pardon&pg=PA17|date= 2014 |publisher=University Press of America }}</ref>

===St. Bartholomew's Day massacre===
[[File:La masacre de San Bartolomé, por François Dubois.jpg|thumb|right|alt=painting of St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, convent church of the Grands-Augustins, the Seine and the bridge of the Millers, in the center, the Louvre and Catherine de' Medici.|The [[St. Bartholomew's Day massacre]] of French Protestants (1572). It was the climax of the [[French Wars of Religion]], which were brought to an end by the [[Edict of Nantes]] (1598). In 1620, persecution was renewed and continued until the [[French Revolution]] in 1789.]]
{{Main|St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre}}
In what became known as the [[St. Bartholomew's Day massacre]] of 24 August – 3 October 1572, Catholics killed thousands of Huguenots in Paris and similar massacres took place in other towns in the following weeks. The main provincial towns and cities experiencing massacres were [[Aix-en-Provence|Aix]], [[Bordeaux]], [[Bourges]], [[Lyons]], [[Meaux]], [[Orléans]], [[Rouen]], [[Toulouse]], and [[Troyes]].<ref>{{aut|[[Geoffrey Parker (historian)|Parker, G.]]}} (ed.) (1994), ''Atlas of World History'', 4th ed., BCA (HarperCollins), London, p. 178</ref>

Although the exact number of fatalities throughout the country is not known, on 23–24 August, between 2,000<ref>Alastair Armstrong: ''France 1500–1715'' (Heinemann, 2003) pp. 70–71;</ref> and 3,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=5286 |title=This Day in History 1572: Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre |publisher=History.com |access-date=2 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212043913/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=5286 |archive-date=12 February 2010}}</ref><ref>{{aut|[[Geoffrey Parker (historian)|Parker, G.]]}} (ed.) (1998), ''Oxford Encyclopedia World History'', Oxford University Press, Oxford, {{ISBN|0-19-860223-5}} hardback, p. 585;</ref><ref>{{aut|[[Henry Chadwick (theologian)|Chadwick, H.]]}} & Evans, G.R. (1987), ''Atlas of the Christian Church'', Macmillan, London, {{ISBN|0-333-44157-5}} hardback, p. 113;</ref> Protestants were killed in Paris and a further 3,000<ref>Alastair Armstrong: ''France 1500–1715'' (Heinemann, 2003) pp. 70–71</ref> to 7,000 more<ref>{{aut|[[Brian Moynahan|Moynahan, B.]]}} (2003) ''The Faith: A History of Christianity'', Pimlico, London, {{ISBN|0-7126-0720-X}} paperback, p. 456;</ref> in the French provinces. By 17 September, almost 25,000 Protestants had been massacred in Paris alone.<ref name="Partner, P. 1999">Partner, P. (1999), ''Two Thousand Years: The Second Millennium'', Granda Media (Andre Deutsch), Britain, {{ISBN|0-233-99666-4}} hardback, pp. ;</ref><ref>Upshall, M. (ed.) (1990), ''The Hutchinson Paperback Encyclopedia'', Arrow Books, London, {{ISBN|0-09-978200-6}} paperback;</ref> Beyond Paris, the killings continued until 3 October.<ref name="Partner, P. 1999"/> An amnesty granted in 1573 pardoned the perpetrators. Following the killings many Protestants [[History of the Huguenots in Kent|fled to the Kentish coast]] among other places.<ref>Kershaw, Samuel W. (1885). ''Protestants from France in their English Home''. London: Samson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington. pp. 106–107.</ref>

===Edict of Nantes===
{{main|Edict of Nantes}}
[[File:Henry IV en Herculeus terrassant l Hydre de Lerne cad La ligue Catholique Atelier Toussaint Dubreuil circa 1600.jpg|thumb|left|[[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]], as [[Hercules]] vanquishing the [[Lernaean Hydra]] (i.e., the [[Catholic League (French)|Catholic League]]), by [[Toussaint Dubreuil]], circa 1600]]
The pattern of warfare, followed by brief periods of peace, continued for nearly another quarter-century. The warfare was definitively quelled in 1598, when Henry of Navarre, having [[Succession of Henry IV of France|succeeded to the French throne]] as [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]], and having recanted Protestantism in favour of Roman Catholicism in order to obtain the French crown, issued the [[Edict of Nantes]]. The Edict reaffirmed Roman Catholicism as the state religion of France, but granted the Protestants equality with Catholics under the throne and a degree of religious and political freedom within their domains. The Edict simultaneously protected Catholic interests by discouraging the founding of new Protestant churches in Catholic-controlled regions.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}

With the proclamation of the Edict of Nantes, and the subsequent protection of Huguenot rights, pressures to leave France abated. However, enforcement of the Edict grew increasingly irregular over time, making life so intolerable that many fled the country. The Huguenot population of France dropped to 856,000 by the mid-1660s, of which a plurality lived in rural areas.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}} The greatest concentrations of Huguenots at this time resided in the regions of [[Guienne]], Saintonge-[[Aunis]]-[[Angoumois]] and [[Poitou]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Huguenot Population of France, 1600–1685: The Demographic Fate and Customs of a Religious Minority |last=Benedict |first=Philip |isbn=0-87169-815-3 |year=1991 |publisher=The American Philosophical Society |location=Philadelphia |page=8 }}</ref>

[[Montpellier]] was among the most important of the 66 {{lang|fr|villes de sûreté}} ('cities of protection' or 'protected cities') that the Edict of 1598 granted to the Huguenots. The city's political institutions and the university were all handed over to the Huguenots. Tension with Paris led to a [[siege by the royal army in 1622]]. Peace terms called for the dismantling of the city's fortifications. A royal citadel was built and the university and consulate were taken over by the Catholic party. Even before the Edict of Alès (1629), Protestant rule was dead and the {{lang|fr|ville de sûreté}} was no more.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}

[[File:Expulsion from La Rochelle of 300 Protestant famillies Nov 1661 Jan Luiken 1649 1712.jpg|thumb|Expulsion from [[La Rochelle]] of 300 Protestant families in November 1661]]
By 1620, the Huguenots were on the defensive, and the government increasingly applied pressure. A series of three small civil wars known as the [[Huguenot rebellions]] broke out, mainly in southwestern France, between 1621 and 1629 in which the Reformed areas revolted against royal authority. The uprising occurred a decade following the death of [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]], who was assassinated by a Catholic fanatic in 1610. His successor [[Louis XIII]], under the regency of his Italian Catholic mother [[Marie de' Medici]], was more intolerant of Protestantism. The Huguenots responded by establishing independent political and military structures, establishing diplomatic contacts with foreign powers, and openly revolting against central power. The rebellions were implacably suppressed by the French crown.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}

===Edict of Fontainebleau===
[[Louis XIV]] inherited the throne in 1643 and acted increasingly aggressively to force the Huguenots to convert. At first he sent [[Missionary|missionaries]], backed by a fund to financially reward converts to Roman Catholicism. Then he imposed penalties, closed Huguenot schools and excluded them from favoured professions. Escalating, he instituted [[dragonnades]], which included the occupation and looting of Huguenot homes by military troops, in an effort to forcibly convert them. In 1685, he issued the [[Edict of Fontainebleau]], revoking the Edict of Nantes and declaring Protestantism illegal.<ref>see article: – [[Revocation of the Edict of Nantes]]</ref>
[[File:Jean Cavalier chef camisard.jpg|thumb|190px|Huguenot rebel leader [[Jean Cavalier]] during the [[War of the Camisards]] in the [[Cévennes]] and [[Languedoc]]]]
The revocation forbade Protestant services, required education of children as Catholics, and prohibited emigration. It proved disastrous to the Huguenots and costly for France. It precipitated civil bloodshed, ruined commerce, and resulted in the illegal flight from the country of hundreds of thousands of Protestants, many of whom were intellectuals, doctors and business leaders whose skills were transferred to Britain as well as Holland, Switzerland, Prussia, South Africa and other places they fled to. 4,000 emigrated to the [[Thirteen Colonies]], where they settled, especially in New York, the [[Delaware River Valley]] in Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey,<ref name="Calvin"/> and Virginia. The English authorities welcomed the French refugees, providing money from both government and private agencies to aid their relocation. Those Huguenots who stayed in France were subsequently forcibly converted to Roman Catholicism and were called "new converts".<ref>John Wolf, ''Louis XIV'', ch 24; Bertrand Van Ruymbeke, "Escape from Babylon", ''Christian History'' 2001 20(3): 38–42. {{ISSN|0891-9666}} Fulltext: [[EBSCO Information Services|Ebsco]]</ref>

After this, the Huguenots (with estimates ranging from 200,000 to 1,000,000<ref name="EB11" />) fled to Protestant countries: England, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, and Prussia—whose Calvinist Great Elector [[Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg|Frederick William]] welcomed them to help rebuild his war-ravaged and underpopulated country. Following this exodus, Huguenots remained in large numbers in only one region of France: the rugged [[Cévennes]] region in the south. There were also some Calvinists in the Alsace region, which then belonged to the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. In the early 18th century, a regional group known as the [[Camisard]]s (who were Huguenots of the mountainous [[Massif Central]] region) rioted against the Catholic Church, burning churches and killing the clergy. It took French troops years to hunt down and destroy all the bands of Camisards, between 1702 and 1709.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://templedurouve-english.asso-web.com|title=Le Temple du Rouve|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130716215730/http://templedurouve-english.asso-web.com/|archive-date=16 July 2013|access-date=7 January 2020}}</ref>

===End of persecution===
{{See also|Persecution of Huguenots under Louis XV|French Revolution}}
[[File:CalasChapbook.jpg|thumb|The death of [[Jean Calas]], who was [[breaking wheel|broken on the wheel]] at Toulouse, 9 March 1762]]
By the 1760s Protestantism was no longer a favourite religion of the elite. By then, most Protestants were Cévennes peasants. It was still illegal, and, although the law was seldom enforced, it could be a threat or a nuisance to Protestants. Calvinists lived primarily in the [[Southern France|Midi]]; about 200,000 Lutherans accompanied by some Calvinists lived in the newly acquired [[Alsace]], where the 1648 [[Peace of Westphalia|Treaty of Westphalia]] effectively protected them.<ref>Nigel Aston, ''Religion and Revolution in France, 1780–1804'' (2000) pp 61–72</ref>

Persecution of Protestants diminished in France after 1724, finally ending with the [[Edict of Versailles]], commonly called the [[Edict of toleration|Edict of Tolerance]], signed by [[Louis XVI]] in 1787. Two years later, with the [[Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen|Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of 1789]], Protestants gained equal rights as citizens.<ref name="Aston, 2000 pp 245-50"/>

=== Right of return to France in the 19th and 20th centuries ===
The government encouraged descendants of exiles to return, offering them French citizenship in a 15 December 1790 law:

<blockquote>All persons born in a foreign country and descending in any degree of a French man or woman expatriated for religious reason are declared French nationals ({{lang|fr|naturels français}}) and will benefit from rights attached to that quality if they come back to France, establish their domicile there and take the civic oath.<ref>{{cite book |author=Sir Thomas Barclay |title=Nationality, domicile and residence in France: Decree of October 2, 1888 concerning foreigners, with notes and instructions and the laws of France relating to nationality, admission to domicile, naturalization and the sojourn in France of foreigners generally |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=99QNAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA23 |year=1888 |pages=23– }}</ref></blockquote>

Article 4 of 26 June 1889 Nationality Law stated: "Descendants of families proscribed by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes will continue to benefit from the benefit of 15 December 1790 Law, but on the condition that a nominal decree should be issued for every petitioner. That decree will only produce its effects for the future."<ref>{{cite book |author=Great Britain. Foreign Office |title=Nationality and Naturalization: Reports by Her Majesty's Representatives Abroad Upon the Laws of Foreign Countries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BHozAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA47 |year=1893 |publisher=[[Her Majesty's Stationery Office]] |page=47}}</ref>

Foreign descendants of Huguenots lost the automatic right to French citizenship in 1945 (by force of the {{lang|fr|Ordonnance n° 45-2441 du 19 octobre 1945}}, which revoked the 1889 Nationality Law).<ref>{{cite book |author=Nicolas Boring |title=The Revocation of Huguenot Rights to French Citizenship |url=https://www.loc.gov/law/help/huguenot-citizenship/france.php?loclr=eallr |year=2019 |publisher=[[Law Library of Congress]] }}</ref> It states in article 3: "This application does not, however, affect the validity of past acts by the person or rights acquired by third parties on the basis of previous laws."<ref>{{cite book |title=Ordonnance n° 45-2441 du 19 octobre 1945 portant code de la nationalité française |trans-title=Decree number 45-2441 of 19 October 1945 on the subject of French nationality |url=https://www.legislation.cnav.fr/Pages/texte.aspx?Nom=ORD_452447_19101945 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003195125/https://www.legislation.cnav.fr/Pages/texte.aspx?Nom=ORD_452447_19101945 |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 October 2019 |year=1945 |publisher=[[Provisional Government of the French Republic]] }}</ref>

===Modern times===
In the 1920s and 1930s, members of the extreme-right {{Lang|fr|[[Action Française]]}} movement expressed strong animus against Huguenots and other [[Protestantism|Protestants]] in general, as well as against [[Jews]] and [[Freemasonry|Freemasons]]. They were regarded as groups supporting the French Republic, which {{Lang|fr|Action Française}} sought to overthrow.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Anti-Protestantism |url=https://museeprotestant.org/en/notice/anti-protestantism/ |access-date=4 April 2024 |website=museeprotestant.org}}</ref>

In [[World War II]], Huguenots led by {{Lang|fr|[[André and Magda Trocmé|André Trocmé]]|italic=no}} in the village of {{Lang|fr|[[Le Chambon-sur-Lignon]]|italic=no}} in {{Lang|fr|[[Cévennes]]|italic=no}} helped save many [[Jews]]. They hid them in secret places or helped them get out of [[Vichy]] France. André Trocmé preached against discrimination as the [[Nazism|Nazis]] were gaining power in neighbouring Germany and urged his Protestant Huguenot congregation to hide Jewish refugees from [[the Holocaust]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Protestant Pastor Andre Trocme {{!}} The Righteous Among the Nations |url=https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/righteous/trocme.asp |access-date=4 April 2024 |website=www.yadvashem.org}}</ref>

In the early 21st century, there were approximately one million Protestants in France, representing some 2% of its population.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2004/35454.htm |title=France |publisher=[[United States Department of State]] |date=1 January 2004 |access-date=2 August 2010}}</ref> Most are concentrated in [[Alsace]] in northeast France and the {{Lang|fr|Cévennes|italic=no}} mountain region in the south, who still regard themselves as Huguenots to this day.{{Citation needed|date=July 2013}} Surveys suggest that Protestantism has grown in recent years, though this is due primarily to the expansion of [[evangelicalism|evangelical Protestant]] churches which particularly have adherents among immigrant groups that are generally considered distinct from the French Huguenot population.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/7710/rise-of-neo-protestantism-under-macron-challenges-traditional-catholic-secular-approach-to-politics |title=Rise of 'neo-Protestantism' under Macron challenges traditional Catholic-secular approach to politics |work=[[The Tablet]] |language=en |access-date=2 May 2019 }}</ref>

A [[diaspora]] of [[French Australians]] still considers itself Huguenot, even after centuries of exile. Long integrated into Australian society, it is encouraged by the Huguenot Society of Australia to embrace and conserve its cultural heritage, aided by the Society's genealogical research services.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://huguenotsaustralia.org.au/ |title=Welcome to The Huguenot Society of Australia |publisher=The Huguenot Society of Australia |access-date=30 April 2016 }}</ref>

In the United States there are several Huguenot worship groups and societies. The Huguenot Society of America has headquarters in New York City and has a broad national membership. One of the most active Huguenot groups is in [[Charleston, South Carolina]]. While many American Huguenot groups worship in borrowed churches, the congregation in Charleston has its own church. Although services are conducted largely in English, every year the church holds an Annual French Service, which is conducted entirely in French using an adaptation of the Liturgies of Neufchatel (1737) and Vallangin (1772). Typically the Annual French Service takes place on the first or second Sunday after Easter in commemoration of the signing of the Edict of Nantes.