On September 17, 1394, King Charles VI of France ordered that all Jewish people be expelled from the kingdom.
Leading up to the expulsion, French Jews had dealt with the burning of sacred religious texts, discriminatory taxes, as well as other fiscal policies aimed at targeting Jews.
They were also being blamed for the Black Plague, which had ravaged Europe in the mid-1300s.
Cities throughout France had expelled Jewish people throughout the 13th and 14th centuries. Jews were formally expelled from France in 1306, their land being taken by the government. They were expelled due to King Philip being short of money after a war with the Flemish. The expulsion allowed him to confiscate and sell Jewish property.
They were recalled in 1315 and made to pay to return, and banished once more in 1322. A pattern of expulsion and return appeared around this time.
In 1315, laws were made so Jews could not discuss their religion in public. They also had to wear a badge to identify themselves as Jews and were cautioned against committing usury, the practice of lending money at unreasonably high rates of interest, an accusation based in antisemitism.
On September 17, 1394, Charles VI declared Jews had been violating the agreement made with him. According to the Religieux de St. Denis — also known as the Monk of Saint-Denis — the king had signed this decree at the insistence of the queen.
French Jews were given a short time to sell their possessions before being escorted off French land.
The 1394 expulsion is accepted as the date of the last expulsion from France in the medieval period. Unlike previous expulsions, this one wasn't temporary. Jewish people began to return to France in the early 17th century.
Today, roughly one percent of the French population is Jewish.