de Medici. This reconfiguration of royal favour left little place for the Guise, and Elbeuf was among those who departed court in January 1561 in response, leaving alongside his brothers Aumale, the Grand Prior and Cardinal Guise. First war of religion In April 1562 Protestants had seized the city of Rouen for the rebel war effort. The following month excursions from the city raided Elbeuf's lands which were situated very close to the city. While Protestant fortunes in the first war of religion had reached a low ebb after the loss at the Battle of Dreux in December, Coligny engaged in a lightning campaign in Normandie in early 1563 seizing back many towns that had fallen to the crown, with little royal forces available to stop him. He began an assault on the castle of Caen on 1 March 1563, the next day Elbeuf who was inside surrendered it, and thus the town. Assassination of the duke of Guise After the assassination of the Duke of Guise, the Guise family blamed Admiral Coligny for having arranged the attack. Resultingly they decided to open a feud with the Admiral. At first this was prosecuted through legal channels, however the king little desired to see the two leading families of his realm at each other's throats, and as such he shut down the attempt. Hoping to isolate the Montmorency, the Guise engaged in a charm offensive towards the Prince of Condé, hoping to detach him from his co-religionists. By September 1565 the English ambassador reported on the friendly relations the prince held with Elbeuf and the Cardinal of Guise. In response to their legal failures however, the Guise family also turned to extra-legal means. To this end they planned a show of force in Paris, which was governed by the cousin of the Admiral, François de Montmorency. Montmorency prohibited any armed entrances into the city but this was ignored, and Lorraine entered the city via one gate, while Aumale and Elbeuf approached through the other. Lorraine was faced with intense opposition from the forces under Montmorency and his ally the Prince de Porcien. Aumale and Elbeuf meanwhile entered uncontested, but after a brief time spent in the suburbs without achieving much, decided to depart. Lorraine had been humiliated in his engagement and hounded by citizens of Paris as he retreated to his residence. The show of force had been a complete failure.