[citation needed] In September 1585, Pope Sixtus V excommunicated both Henry of Navarre and his cousin and leading general Condé to remove them from the royal succession.

Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercœur, a prominent member of the Catholic League and governor of Brittany since 1582, conducted campaigns against the Protestants in 1585, 1587 and 1588, but was repeatedly defeated and forced to flee, thereby establishing his reputation as a poor warrior (he was jokingly nicknamed "duc de Recule" (the "Duke of Retreat") by Brantôme).

[4] In October 1585, Condé conducted the Siege of Brouage, but had to lift it when the castle of Angers was seized by treason, and then descended into fighting between various factions.

[4] In early 1586, Henry of Navarre's forces were far inferior to his opponents, and he sought to strengthen his position and build his army by buying time and avoiding a general engagement.

[4] To that end, Navarre published several declarations in which he lamented the miseries of war, denounced those fighting, and argued that he himself was not to be blamed for it, addressing the clergy (in reference to Pontius Pilate washing his hands in Matthew 27:24–25) with the words: "If war delights you so much, if you prefer a battle to an argument, and a conspiracy to a council, I wash my hands of it, and the blood which may be shed shall be on your heads.

"[4] In February 1586, the Prince of Condé occupied La Rochelle and the isle of Oléron and turned them into Huguenot strongholds.

[4] In early April 1586, St. Luc, the governor of Brouage, attacked La Rochelle for 24 hours with 5,000 troops, but was forced to retreat by the Protestant defenders, losing 400 soldiers and much of his baggage.

The Swiss were his allies, and had come to invade France to free him from subjection; but Henry III insisted that their invasion was not in his favor, but against him, forcing them to return home.

The Germans, led by Fabien I, Burgrave of Dohna, wanted to fight against the Duke of Guise, in order to win a victory like Coutras.

Further, after the Day of the Barricades, an uprising planned in part by the Spanish diplomat Bernardino de Mendoza, the king decided to flee to Blois.

[citation needed] After the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, the king called the Estates-General in the midst of intrigue and plotting.

[citation needed] In the spring, the extant Henry III of Navarre returned to the field; he won significant victories at Ivry and Arques and laid siege to Paris (despite being greatly outnumbered), but a Spanish army under Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma lifted the siege.

[citation needed] The French Wars of Religion lasted several more years, as League diehards and Spanish troops continued to resist the reunification of France.