the previous duke of Guise. This represented an arm of Catherine's reconciliation policy, and enabled Coligny to return to court in June. After the attempt on Coligny's life on 22 August 1572, the situation in Paris deteriorated fast, as the Protestant nobles threatened to take justice into their own hands against those they held responsible, namely the Guise family. Aumale and Guise, son of the deceased duke, well aware that their complicity was suspected came to the king and asked him whether they could have permission to depart from court. He replied coldly that he would bring them to justice if the need arose and that they could depart. While the two considered this course of action for a while, they ultimately decided this would be an admission of guilt for the attempt and chose to stay. Catherine de Medici held a council in which it was decided to pre-emptively assassinate the leading Protestants in the city. While the Guise were not involved in these discussions, they were invited to a meeting at 23:00 on 23 August in which the specific list of targets was drawn up. Aumale and Guise were involved in this process alongside Anjou brother to the king and the king's cousin Louis, Duke of Montpensier, Aumale and Guise were to lead the attack against their hated enemy Coligny and those lodged with him. To this end they were provided with forces of Anjou's personal guard. In the early hours of 24 August Guise rode out with 60 men including Aumale and Angoulême towards the residence of Coligny. The men waited outside while their subordinates went up and dealt with Coligny. In the following hours militant elements of the population of Paris would jump on the assassinations as an excuse for a general slaughter of Protestants in the city. The party of assassins meanwhile, now finished with Coligny's residence, proceeded to their next target, Gabriel de Lorges, Count of Montgomery the former captain of the Scots Guard who had accidentally killed king Henri II in 1559. By now though Paris was descending into chaos, and Montgomery was not unawares to the danger. As such Guise and Aumale were forced into a pursuit, they were unable to catch him and he fled north to Normandie. Siege of La Rochelle and death He was killed at the siege of La Rochelle on 3 March 1573 during one of the