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Understanding how the French religious war ended in mid-1590 requires that historians take into account the circulation of theories on peacekeeping after over thirty years of civil conflicts. The Edit de Nantes, a legal achievement during the reign of Henry IV, turned out to be the basis on which a modus vivendi between Catholics and Calvinists could be built. However, it remained to be seen how the cease-fire could effectively be enforced, and how the French would manage to convince themselves that it was safe to lay down weapons without putting their life at risk. This paper is a case study of the pacification process in the southwest of France, through the example of a new legal device called " trêve de labourage" or "plough-agreement." This pacification resulted from the fact that both parties were not interested in seeing the soldiers ruin the economic bases of the local economy. By targeting the man of war, the consuls and representatives of the states on both sides of the divide succeeded to renew dialogue and paved the way for peaceful coexistence.