Following the Thirty Years war, civil unrest broke out in France, and the rebel leader Louis de Condé allied himself with Spain.
French troops under Henri, Vicomte de Turenne gained initial successes against the Spanish in northern France but suffered a reverse at Valenciennes in 1656. The battle of the Dunes and capture of Dunkirk in 1658 broke Spanish resistance and the Treaty of the Pyrenees established the Franco-Spanish border and France's pre-eminence in Europe

• Battle of the Dunes 14 June 1658