During this time he would establish himself as a moderate religious presence, keen to achieve compromise and avoid the brutality that typified the Massacre of Mérindol perpetrated by one of his subordinates in 1545.

[1] Marriage negotiations took place between Tende and Adrienne d'Estouteville who refused to honour the contract, noting he had 'a bad odor' and 'kept the company of many women.

[9] In 1520 Tende was provided with the office of gentleman of the chamber' and later in that year his father presented him to the estates of Provence, which had assembled in Aix.

Upon René's death he assumed the roles of lieutenant-general and governor of Provence alongside his responsibilities as Admiral of the Levant Sea.

[11] When Montmorency marched south to Bayonne to negotiate the release of the king's sons from Spanish captivity in 1530, Tende accompanied the diplomatic mission.

The king established a strategy of creating no-mans lands so that Charles might be sapped of supplies, as a result those in the villages of Provence were ordered to bring all their livestock from the fields.

The brutal policy had its intended effect, after failing to siege Marseilles, and with his army disintegrating Charles was forced to retreat from Provence, crossing the Var again in September.

[17] He continued to coordinate with Brissac and the Turkish navy for potential operations against Nice as the king desired to capture the city.

[19] Finding him in his stronghold, Tende's instinct to negotiate arose, and he successfully convinced Mauvans that his conscience would not be infringed if he would disband his army and retire to a private life.

[21] Tende attempted to work with the Parlement of Aix to avoid a massacre of the towns Protestant population, but they were uninterested in acting against the perpetrators.

[24] Flassans brother Carcès reorganised the group on the lines of a ligue and reached out to form an alliance with Tende's son, Sommerive against him in May 1562.

[25] Sommerive began raising taxes, and explained to the notables of Provence that Tende was a prisoner of the Protestants, and as such his orders could safely be ignored.

In November the Parlement of Aix recognised Sommerives usurpation of power, declaring him the governor of Provence in lieu of Tende.

Their defiance, in combination with the continued presence of armed Protestant militia's in the region, persuaded the royal court to send Biron south with several commissioners and 500 soldiers.

He reduced the Protestant garrison of Sisteron, persuaded the Catholic nobility to get into line with the edict, and re-installed Tende as governor of Provence, returning him from exile to Marseille.