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Why did Mazarin have to leave the French court during the Fronde?

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Jules, Cardinal Mazarin Jules, Cardinal Mazarin, detail of a portrait by Philippe de Champaigne; in the Musée Condé, Chantilly, France.

Cardinal Mazarin was forced to leave the French court during the Fronde primarily due to intense political opposition and widespread public hostility toward his administration.1

As first minister, Mazarin implemented new taxes on leading Parisians to fund ongoing war expenditures, which fueled significant discontent. This opposition was amplified by "Mazarinades," inflammatory pamphlets that attacked the Cardinal and criticized his policies. The rebellion, which originated in the judicial oligarchy of the Parlement of Paris, eventually spread to the upper nobility and gained popular support.12

The political pressure reached a peak in February 1651, when supporters of the rebellious Louis II de Bourbon, prince de Condé and the Parisian party united to demand and secure Mazarin's dismissal. Despite these forced departures, Mazarin was able to maintain his position and eventually return to power because he retained the favor of the queen regent, Anne of Austria, and the young Louis XIV.231