Cardinal Mazarin dies, leaving a power vacuum in which the young Louis asserts his intention to govern as well as rule. Mazarin's fiscal advisor, Colbert, warns against Fouquet, the Superintendant who has been systematically looting the treasury and wants to be prime minister. Fouquet believes Louis will soon tire of exercizing power and overplays his hand by offering a bribe to Louis' mistress to be his ally. She reports this to the king who arrests Fouquet. Louis and Colbert design a brilliant strategy to keep merchants making money, nobles in debt, the urban poor working and fed, and peasants untaxed.
You can now watch The Taking of Power by Louis XIV online on the following streaming providers in the United States.
| Directing | Roberto Rossellini | Director |
| Writing | Philippe Erlanger | Writer |
| Writing | Jean Gruault | Writer |
| Camera | Jean-Louis Picavet | Director of Photography |
| Art | Maurice Valay | Production Design |
| Sound | Jean-Claude Brisson | Sound Mixer |
| Camera | Georges Leclerc | Director of Photography |
| Costume & Make-Up | Nadine Jouve | Makeup Artist |
| Sound | Jean-Paul Quiquempois | Sound Mixer |
| Costume & Make-Up | Christiane Coste | Costume Design |
| Crew | Renzo Rossellini | Second Unit |
| Editing | Armand Ridel | Editor |
| Sound | Jacques Gayet | Sound Designer |
| Sound | Betty Willemetz | Sound Designer |
| Writing | Roberto Rossellini | Writer |
| Production | Claude Baks | Producer |
| Writing | Michelle Podroznik | Scenario Writer |
