With the resumption of the Italian Wars, Saint André found himself serving to protect the recently acquired city of Verdun during the emperor's campaign into the region in 1552.

In captivity as a valuable prisoner for the next year he was granted leave to visit the court in the hopes he could convince the French king to come to the peace table.

Alongside Montmorency and Guise he formed an alliance hoping to combat Protestantism and protect the Catholic character of France, popularly known as the 'triumvirate'.

[3] In 1547 François I died; while Henri was not meant to be involved in the process of obsequies, he secretly viewed the funeral from a house en route with his close associates Saint André and Vielleville.

Henri became emotional and began to cry; Vielleville and Saint André recounted for him how his elder brother had celebrated a false report that he had drowned years prior, hoping to channel his grief into anger.

[14] Phillip II was keenly aware of the value of the two prisoners to Henri, among his many other noble captives, as such he paroled Saint André in 1558 to bring the king on board with the Spanish peace terms.

[20] The administration was however in dire straits, and in the general repossession of alienated royal land in the opening months of François' reign, he would lose the seigneurie of Saint-Seine-sur-Vigeanne.

[21] Opposition to the Guise administration coalesced into a conspiracy in early 1560, with armed groups attempting to storm the court while it stayed at the castle of Amboise.

On March 15 Saint André was sent out from the castle with 200 horse, and permission to requisition local garrisons for men at arms, to ensure Tours was securely held by the regime.

[24][25] Together they attended mass conducted by Cardinal Tournon on 7 April, and Guise and Montmorency who had been rivals for a decade exchanged the kiss of peace.

[26] Concurrently an agent of the Lyons town council reported back to the city that the governor of the Lyonnais, Saint André, had lost much of the influence he had held at court in the prior two reigns.

[32] In the negotiations that filled the early months of the first war of religion, Condé demanded as a condition for his disarmament the removal of several figures from court, among them Saint André.

[38] These forces augmenting his army to a considerable strength once more, Condé decided to make an attempt on Paris; he was however unable to reach beyond the outskirts before finding himself compelled to retreat northwards.

[40] He was impatient on the field, keen to attack quickly, however his command of the right wing of the army was more theoretical than practical, and he could not advance without the permission of Guise.

[41] About two hours into the battle, with the destruction of the royal left under Montmorency, Guise and Saint Andre at last advanced into the combat annihilating the Huguenot infantry.