Henry II, son of Francis I, continued the Italian Wars and strengthened the monarchy, while religious tensions with the Protestants grew.
Foreign policy
Struggle with the Habsburgs; recovery of Calais (1558) from England; Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis (1559) closed a long cycle of Italian wars.
Death
Mortally wounded in a tournament in 1559, he left the throne to his sons under the influence of Catherine de’ Medici—opening the era of the Wars of Religion.