Punctuated by major monarchical ceremonies, the Court of France appeared as a perfectly ordered world. However, conflicts of precedence blowing up on any occasion created a disorder that the King sought to regulate by defining a whole series of rules. Based on the analysis of these conflicts of ranks, this paper shows how the French monarchy used the ceremony issue to impose, from Henri III to Louis XIV, the image of an almighty King in majesty turning any court gesture into political acts.