<P> Since then, French kings had continuously tried to strengthen existing royal powers scattered among their nobles . Philip the Fair, Charles the Wise and Louis the Cunning were instrumental in the transformation of France from a feudal state to a modern country . By the time of Francis I, France was a very centralized state but the French Wars of Religion posed a new threat to royal absolutism with quasi-independent Protestant strongholds developing in various locations in the country . </P> <P> With his skilful Prime Minister Richelieu, who vowed "to make the royal power supreme in France and France supreme in Europe ." (source: Cardinal Richelieu's Political Testament), Louis XIII established Absolute Monarchy in France during his reign . When his son and successor Louis XIV came to power, a period of trouble known as the Fronde occurred in France, taking advantage of Louis XIV's minority . This rebellion was driven by the great feudal lords and sovereign courts as a reaction to the rise of royal power in France . </P> <P> The rebellion was crushed; however, many obstacles stood in the way of absolutism in France: </P> <Ul> <Li> Nobles had the means to raise private armies and build fortifications . The king did not have the means to raise and keep an army himself and had to rely on these nobles to defend the nation; </Li> <Li> Lesser nobles, who had the ability to read and write, also acted as the king's agents . Effectively, they were his representatives of government to the people . They collected taxes, posted edicts, and administered justice . </Li> <Li> The Huguenots, who since the 1598 Edict of Nantes by Henry IV, held the rights to bear arms and to build fortifications in certain locations . </Li> </Ul>

Which actions did french kings take to increase