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Why did Richelieu fight against the Catholic Habsburgs while supporting Protestant powers?

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Full-length portrait of Cardinal Richelieu by Philippe de Champaigne, showing him in red clerical robes holding a red book, standing beside a balustrade with a draped curtain behind. — Cardinal Richelieu As both statesman and churchman, Cardinal Richelieu was the acknowledged architect of France's greatness in the 17th century. In 1640, when this full-length portrait was painted (likely by Philippe de Champaigne), he was embroiled in a dispute with the pope and other religious controversies along with many other consequences of expanding French power across Europe. He would die two years later, facing conspiracies against his life and suffering ill health.

Cardinal Richelieu’s decision to fight against the Catholic Habsburgs while supporting Protestant powers was driven by his commitment to French national interests and the preservation of the state over religious considerations.12

Richelieu’s primary foreign policy objective was to counter the Habsburg hegemony in Europe, which he viewed as a direct threat to France’s independence and security. Because the Habsburgs controlled territories surrounding France—including Spain, the Spanish Netherlands, and parts of the Holy Roman Empire—Richelieu feared that France faced political and economic encirclement.2345

To break this encirclement, Richelieu prioritized the "reason of state" over confessional loyalty. He provided subsidies to Protestant leaders, such as Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, to keep the Habsburgs preoccupied in Germany. When diplomatic efforts failed to curb Habsburg power, he committed France to direct military intervention in the Thirty Years’ War alongside Protestant allies. Although this policy was criticized by some as a betrayal of the church, Richelieu maintained that a statesman must act based on the needs of the kingdom to ensure order and stability.23