Why was Protestant strong in SOUTHERN France?

I had made the wrong assumption that Protestantism would have been strong in Northern France, while Sothern France would be a Catholic stronghold. But I have found recently that it was the other way round. Why did it happened? Was it because Southern France was farther away from Paris and the Court? Was it because there were remanents of the idea of religious dissent in the South, from the days of Catarism? Was it for some other reason?
 
First, remember that it was strong in part of southern France, not the whole of it.

You see that Protestantism is widespread as well in the North, especially in Normandy and Poitou (arguably it could be considered as Southern France from a certain point of view).

Then, distance certainly played a role, but not directly as such. See religion, as in HRE, depended on if it was protected or not. You can see that Bearn (the group of black points in S-W) seems quite isolated. It's because the viscounts of Bearn (that were as well kings of Navarre and rulers of other regions) were Protestants and harboured them.

See, Wars of Religion were as much religious (but you probably figured that much without my help) than political. Bourbons were usually protectors of Protestantism while other families as de Guise weren't at all (It's definitely more complex than that, but we need to simplify).

Some families, as the Montmorency, while not Protestants, sometimes allied themselves against nobles families that embraced Ligue, as Guise.

Valois' policy depended of their interests, not tolerating what was after all a lese-majesty offense at times, concilient at others because it was convenient, etc. When they warred, they campaigned usually against places more close, taking back Protestants strongholds.

Ironically, one of the safe places for Protestants, the principality of Orange (whom Oranje-Nassau are issued) was a sovereign statelet neighbouring Avignon (a pontifical holding at this time)

Eventually it made the map, but it doesn't explain everything. Why Poitou or eastern Languedoc, for exemple, were that important Protestants hubs?
You may notice these regions are coastal ones, more prone to trade and exchange, including new ideas.

There's as well, families, affinities, policy often decided if a town turned Protestant or not, sometimes in rivality with other towns (it's one of the reasons Castres turned Protestant while Albi turned Ligue).
Once a city was "hooked", as Nimes, it became hard to really strip out. Royal institutions were simply too weakened by the ongoing Wars of Religion, political crisis and succession issues after the death of Henri II to real deal with.

Now, in spite of what some Protestant scholars tried to point out, it can be safely said that there is no link whatsoever between Catharism and Protestantism. Certainly not dogmatically, geographically (Catharism expanded in another era) without any connection found.

There were so few remnants (remember that we're talking about a minority heresy there, that never went to the same scale of Protestantism in its wilder dreams) that some places turned full Ligue during the Wars of Religion.

On the other hand, you have a direct connection between Vaudois and Protestants.

There's some other reasons, but it should cover the main ones.
 
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