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Despite the official end of the third war of religion, the sectarian violence was ongoing and religious rioting was the norm. The French Kings were too weak to either stop the violence or crush the Huguenots. The situation was greatly complicated by the growing power and ambitions of the Guise family and their faction. The French Royal Family were fearful of the growing power of the Guise faction and as a result was keen not to allow them to become too powerful.

[[File: Bart 2.jpg|thumbnail|300px|left|The assassination of Coligny]]

After the third war of religion, King Charles IX or his advisers in order to bring peace to France arranged for a marriage between, the Huguenot leader Henri of Navarre and Margaret of Valois, the sister of King Charles IX, in 1572.<ref> Smither, James."The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre and Images of Kingship in France: 1572-1574." <i>The Sixteenth Century Journal</i> (1991): 27-29</ref> They were married in Paris at the Cathedral of Notre Dame cathedral.

The actions of the Royal Guard inspired Catholic mobs to form, and they attacked and murdered any Protestant they could find. There had been no plan for a general massacre of Huguenots, but events seemed to have spiraled out of control. Catholic mobs murdered Huguenots in many horrific ways and paraded the bodies through the streets.<ref> Smithers, p. 31</ref> The King ordered the violence to stop, but the bloodshed continued for another week.

The news of the massacre prompted Catholics in other cities and towns to murder Huguenots. The violence did not end until several weeks later. Many Huguenots only escaped because of the bravery of their Catholic neighbors. The exact number of Huguenots killed in the massacres that swept France in the Autumn of 1572 will never be known.<ref>Dienfendorf, p. 75</ref> There were exaggerated reports by both sides.