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ThePeace of Rueil (French:Paix de Rueil,IPA:[pɛdəʁɥœj] or[ʁɥɛj]), signed 11 March 1649, signalled an end to the opening episodes of theFronde (a period of civil war in theKingdom of France) after little blood had been shed. The articles ended all hostilities and declared all avenues of trade reopened. The settlement was promulgated in the name of the child kingLouis XIV[1] through his motherAnne of Austria, theQueen Regent.Cardinal Mazarin, the true power of the court party, was not mentioned in the text, though he was a signatory, as wasthe Grand Condé, who had been recruited by the court party to overcome the resistance ofParis.[2]
TheParlement of Paris was directed to report toSaint Germain-en-Laye, where the king proposed to hold alit de justice solely to proclaim the agreed-upon articles. The Parlement was then to return to Paris and carry on as usual, but it was agreed that no further sessions of the Chambre Saint-Louis[3] would be held during the year. The Declarations of the Parlement of July and October 1648, which a historian might consider the opening paper volley of the Fronde, were confirmed, but all general edicts of the Parlement enacted since 6 January were declared null and void.[4] The King, "desiring to give evidence of his affection to the inhabitants of his good City ofParis," declared that he was resolved to return to the capital.[5][2]
Thelettres de cachet issued in the King's name were likewise nullified. The war of words was thereby retracted on both sides. Troops raised by the Parlement were to be disbanded and the King's troops were to be returned to their customary garrisons. TheBastille and the Paris Arsenal, which had been seized by the forces of the Parlement, were to be returned to royal control. As for the envoy from the archduke Leopold,Philip IV’s representative in theSpanish Netherlands, who was offeringHabsburg aid, poised to invade northern France as a result of negotiations on the part of theprince de Conti, he was to be sent away from Paris without a response from the Parlement.[2]
Conti, aprince of the blood who was at the head of the noble faction that still claimed to represent the Parlement de Paris, was pardoned, as well as all those others[6] who had taken part. All were to be free of prosecution for their roles, if they would declare for the settlement within four days. A general pardon was issued for all cash taken or property sold during the insurrection.[2]
Turning to the pressing royal need for money, which was at the root of the imposed taxes that had been resisted by the Parlement, it was agreed that the King might borrow sums deemed necessary atdenier 12 (8.33%) interest for the current and following years only.[2]
The Parlement of Paris quickly ratified the treaty. Peace lasted until the end of 1649. The princes returned to court, renewing their intrigues against Mazarin and gaining the support of the Grand Condé. Mazarin, having privately established the support of the party ofGaston, Duke of Orléans, the king's uncle, and withJean François Paul de Gondi, cardinal de Retz and theduchesse de Chevreuse behind him, suddenly arrestedCondé, his brother theprince de Conti and their brother-in-law theduc de Longueville, on January 14, 1650, precipitating the next phase of the Fronde, theFronde des nobles.[2]