The trial of the Protestant judge Anne du Bourg which ended in his execution in December after he refused to recant, further fanned the flames of religious tension, which exploded in the capital with the Saint-Médard riot later that month and the assassination of President Minard. The backlash to these policies, and the increasing militancy of some Protestants troubled the Guise, who issued new laws, banning the wearing of masks, and long coats that might conceal pistols. Financial policy On the financial side the Guise made equally many enemies, the army was drastically scaled down in size, and payments to troops were deferred, upsetting many soldiers. Some came to the royal residence to voice their displeasure, and were threatened by Lorraine with hanging if they didn't vacate the premises. Further, many of the cuts to the administration and new taxes had notable exemptions for the lands of the Guise, and their clients, angering those elites, who were not among their circles. Crown lands were resumed, with the exception of Guises' holdings of Saumur, Provins and Dourdan further alienating those elites who had benefitted from such crown grants. Finally venal office was suppressed, a move which inflamed the title holders who lost their privileges. Faction and conspiracy Factions form No sooner had Henry II died than malcontent factions began to form against the new Guise led government. Those opposed to the Guise sought for Antoine of Navarre to take a leading role as regent of the kingdom, conscious of his flirtations with Protestantism in the late 1550s. This was despite Francis II being of legal age to rule. This faction further desired the calling of an estates general, to solve many of what they perceived as the kingdom's ills in the past decades. The Guise's alienation of elements of the army through their fiscal policy furthered this disgruntled clique, bringing into their number Maligny and Castelnau among others. Conspiracy established Around August 1559 a plan began to consolidate for the coup plot, aiming at first to assert Navarre's right to a regency, and, when he proved uninterested, Condé's more dubious right as a minor prince of the blood. La Renaudie was tasked to lead this coup attempt. He had personal reasons to want to see the Guise taken from power, the Cardinal of Lorraine having seen his brother-in-law executed. La Renaudie boasted that he had the support of John Calvin in