The last quarter of the nineteenth century saw a more forceful intervention by the State in the lives of children than had hitherto been attempted. The loi Roussel of 1874 regulated the practice of putting infants out to wet-nurse. The lois scolaires of the 1880s, associated with the name of Jules Ferry, made schooling free and compulsory for all children aged between six and thirteen. More direct curbs on the power of fathers over their offspring came with laws passed in 1889 and 1898. The former permitted the State to deprive parents of their authority if they were compromising the welfare of their children through habitual drunkenness or scandalous ill-treatment. The latter made it possible for minors who had been criminally abused within their families to be handed over to the assistance publique or to guardians from a charitable society. This was the context for the child labour law of 19 May 1874, which is the focus for the final two chapters of this book. The new Act went some way to meet the criticisms levelled at its predecessor of 1841. But it was one thing to pass ambitious legislation, quite another to transform the customs of a large sector of the population. The 1874 law and its network of Inspectors had to contend with a whole range of forces on the labour market, which affected the willingness of employers and parents alike to see children move from the workshops to the primary schools.