A Kingdom in Disarray: France’s Financial and Political Crisis

The mid-14th century was a period of profound instability for France. Plagued by the ongoing Hundred Years’ War, the kingdom faced military defeats, economic collapse, and internal strife. The capture of King Jean II at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356 left the government in the hands of his young son, Dauphin Charles. However, the dauphin inherited a realm teetering on the brink of disaster.

Unable to resolve mounting financial troubles, Charles resorted to currency devaluation—a desperate measure that only deepened public resentment. The economic strain fell heavily on Paris, where Étienne Marcel, a wealthy merchant and provost of the city’s guilds, emerged as a vocal critic of the crown. By January 1357, protests escalated into open rebellion, forcing the dauphin to yield to the demands of the Estates-General.

The Estates-General Seizes Power

The Estates-General, a representative assembly of clergy, nobility, and commoners, capitalized on the dauphin’s weakness. They established a reform committee, scrutinized royal appointments, and attempted to wrest control of governance from Charles. However, their authority hinged on securing promised tax revenues—a challenge complicated by King Jean II’s actions.

From captivity in England, Jean II negotiated a two-year truce with the English and openly undermined the Estates-General by forbidding subjects from paying war taxes. This move exploited a longstanding French tradition of resisting taxation during peacetime, crippling the assembly’s credibility. Meanwhile, regional nobles in Champagne and Languedoc refused to cooperate, exposing the limits of urban bourgeois influence in a still-feudal society.

The Rise of Charles of Navarre and the Fracturing of Loyalties

Into this power vacuum stepped Charles II of Navarre, a charismatic and ambitious noble with a claim to the French throne. Escaping imprisonment in November 1357, he positioned himself as a defender of the realm against royal oppression. Marcel, disillusioned with Dauphin Charles, allied with Navarre, while Queen Mothers further destabilized the court.

Navarre’s demands were exorbitant: the return of confiscated lands, plus Normandy and Champagne. His forces, alongside disbanded English and Breton mercenaries, ravaged the countryside near Paris. By early 1358, the capital had become a battleground of competing factions.

The Parisian Revolt and the Humiliation of the Dauphin

On January 11, 1358, Dauphin Charles attempted to rally support in Paris’s central market, denying accusations of misrule. Marcel, however, had already mobilized armed partisans. On February 22, Marcel’s forces stormed the dauphin’s chambers, murdered two officials, and forced Charles to wear a revolutionary red-and-blue cap—a symbol of his submission.

Though Marcel now controlled Paris in the dauphin’s name, external threats loomed. Nobles outside the city rejected his authority, blockading supply routes. In March, Charles escaped to provincial assemblies, where noble support enabled him to break with Marcel and prepare a counterattack.

The Jacquerie: Peasant Fury and Noble Retribution

As Charles marshaled forces, another crisis erupted: the Jacquerie. Sparked by peasant rage against marauding soldiers—whether English, Navarrese, or unpaid royal troops—the revolt began in May 1358 near Beauvais. Led by Guillaume Cale, rebels attacked nobles, burned estates, and destroyed debt records. Marcel initially supported the uprising, hoping to weaken royalist nobles.

Yet the Jacquerie lacked coherent goals. Its indiscriminate violence alienated potential allies. Nobles, horrified by the slaughter of their peers, turned to Charles of Navarre for aid. On June 10, Navarre betrayed Cale, capturing and executing him before crushing the rebel army. The reprisals were brutal: nobles massacred tens of thousands of peasants, whether rebels or not.

The Fall of Étienne Marcel and the Dauphin’s Triumph

With the Jacquerie crushed, nobles united against Marcel. Isolated, he invited Navarre into Paris—alongside English mercenaries—alienating his remaining supporters. On July 31, 1358, Marcel was killed by his own citizens while attempting to open the city gates. The revolt collapsed.

Dauphin Charles re-entered Paris on August 2, issuing pardons but inheriting a shattered kingdom. Navarre and the English held key territories, while mercenary bands terrorized the countryside. France’s inability to pay Jean II’s ransom led England to abandon peace talks. In 1359, Edward III launched a new invasion, besieging Reims and Paris before harsh weather and French resistance forced a retreat.

The Treaty of Brétigny and a Fragile Peace

Exhausted, England and France negotiated the Treaty of Brétigny in May 1360. Edward III renounced his claim to the French throne in exchange for vast lands—including Poitou and Limousin—and a colossal ransom for Jean II. Though the war paused, the treaty’s terms sowed future conflicts.

Legacy: A Kingdom Forever Changed

The crises of 1356–1360 revealed the fragility of medieval French institutions. The Estates-General’s failure underscored the nobility’s enduring dominance, while the Jacquerie demonstrated the explosive potential of peasant discontent. Paris’s revolt, though crushed, foreshadowed later urban rebellions.

For Dauphin Charles—soon to be King Charles V—these trials forged a ruler who would later stabilize France. Yet the scars of these years lingered, shaping the kingdom’s trajectory in the Hundred Years’ War and beyond.