The rain that afternoon had brought wonderful color to the skies over Paris, and to this gallant statue of Henri IV. (La pluie avait apporte' de belles couleurs au ciel de Paris, et a cette statue gallante d'Henri IV. Vous pouvez lire au sujet de ce roi, un des plus respecte' de France, sur les pages de Wikipedia, l'encyclopedie sur l'internet. www.wikipedia.com ... ou l'on peut choisir la version francaise. Une partie de la version anglaise trouvee a Wikipedia suit mon introduction.)

Henri IV is France's most loved King. He was cool .... encouraged religious tolerance, supported urban development - had the Pont Neuf built that connected the left and right banks of Paris - cared enough for his people to insure that all peasants and workers had a chicken in the pot on Sundays.....was intent, in other words on spreading prosperity.......this is the first equestrian statue in Paris, erected originally in 1624. Vive Henri IV!! (Sadly he was assassinated by a Catholic extremist.)

Here's something for you from Wikipedia, about Henri IV:
"French: Henri IV; December 13, 1553 – May 14, 1610), was the first monarch of the Bourbon dynasty in France.

As a Huguenot, Henry was involved in the Wars of Religion before ascending to the throne; to become king he converted to Catholicism and in 1598 promulgated the Edict of Nantes which guaranteed religious liberties to the Protestants and thereby effectively ended the civil war. One of the most popular French kings, both during and after his reign, Henry showed great care for the welfare of his subjects and displayed an unusual religious tolerance for the time. He was murdered by a fanatical Catholic, François Ravaillac.

Henry was nicknamed Henry the Great (Henri le Grand), and in France is sometimes called le bon roi Henri ("good king Henry") or le Vert galant ("the Green gallant").......

...............Henry IV proved to be a man of vision and courage. Instead of waging costly wars to suppress opposing nobles, Henry simply paid them off. As king, he adopted policies and undertook projects to improve the lives of all subjects, which made him one of the country's most popular rulers ever.

A declaration often attributed to him is:

Si Dieu me prête vie, je ferai qu’il n’y aura point de laboureur en mon royaume qui n’ait les moyens d’avoir le dimanche une poule dans son pot!
God willing, every working man in my kingdom will have a chicken in the pot every Sunday, at the least!
This egalitarian statement epitomizes the peace and relative prosperity Henri brought to France after decades of religious war, and demonstrates how well he understood the plight of the French worker or peasant farmer. Never before had a French ruler even considered the importance of a chicken or the burden of taxation on his subjects, nor would one again until the French Revolution. After generations of domination by the extravagant Valois dynasty, which had caused the French people to pay to the point of starvation for the royal family's luxuries and intrigue, Navarre's charisma won the day.