Richelieu's successful policies leading to the consolidation of the royal power, centralization of the state, and strengthening the international position of France paved the way for the authoritarian rule of Louis XIV.
Cardinal Mazarin, for years de facto the ruler of France, continued earlier anti-Habsburg policies, was critical to establishing the Westphalian order of sovereign states, and laid the foundation for Louis XIV's absolutism.
Throughout his reign, Louis XIV, known as the Sun King, consolidated royal power and centralized the state by financial, administrative, and legal reforms as well as by a sophisticated system of controlling the French aristocracy.
The persecution of the Huguenots became one of the critical factors in Louis XIV's consolidation of royal power and resulted in Catholicism being the only legally tolerated religion in France, despite Louis' conflict with the Pope.
Louis XIV's expansionist ambitions resulted in numerous wars that positioned nearly all European powers against France and bankrupted the French state but turned France into the most powerful state in Europe.