Before 1789: Royal and Louis XVI  era
 

Social Order in France before the French Revolution.

France was categorized by 3 estates: First estate was the clergy, second estate was the noble and third estate was commoners. Before the French Revolution, the total population in France was between 24-26 million. 130,000 were clergy, 500,000 were nobles, and the rest were commoners. The third estate was 96% of the total population.
Although the number of clergy was insignificant in France, they had influences contradicted to their numbers. The church was an organization itself, or a country within a country. The church had its own administrative body, vast land, and court of laws. The church was very wealthy at that time. It had great income from the crops of the land, donations and gifts from the nobles, and
fees like registration of birth and death.
 

 



Financial Condition of the Royal

It traced back to Louis XIV, the Sun King, spent lots of money in wars and building extraordinary Versailles. Louis XV spent money on wars. In private life, he spent a lot in his mistress, like Madame de Pompadour and Madame du Barry . He left a huge royal debt to Louis XVI when after his death.
Louis XVI understood the royal financial problem. He kept his best to maintain the balance in his financial statements.
However, his beloved brother Comte d’Artois and his wife Marie Antoinette were big spenders, and asked Louis XVI for money when they ran out of it. Louis XVI gave them money because of love. Whatever Louis XVI saved could never balance the expenditure of those people.
Marie Antoinette's marriage with Louis XVI was the arrangement by Louis XV and Empress Marie Theresa from Austria in order to stop the years of wars. Marie Antoinette felt loneliness after she left Austria. Madame de Polignac became the best friend of Queen Marie Antoinette. In order to make her friend happy, Marie Antoinette spent money to improve Madame de Polignac living standard. She also spent money on clothes and diamonds to satisfy her desire. Although Marie Antoinette did
not purchase the diamond necklace, in the Diamond Necklace Affair , people concluded that she spent France's money disregard the terrible living situation of her citizens. People gave her the name "Madame Deficit".



Economic Condition of France

The leadership of Louis XVI was weak, and so was the prime minister. The officers of government offices were held by the nobles, who only considered for their luxury lives. Most of the finance ministers in Louis XVI era were nobles, except Jacques Necker, a Swiss banker in France. The regional administration was lacked of uniformity, the legal system was highly corrupted.
Worst of all, the taxation system was the remainder of the old royal system and did not adjust of the change of France environment. Direct taxes, which were the main taxation of France, was levied on the peasants, the nobles were exempted from it. There were also indirect taxes, was caused the burden of the peasants worse.
The annual revenue could not compensate the expenditure of the royal. The deficit grew larger every year. The continue increase in tax could not solve the deficit problem. Prices were risen because of the high taxation. Between 1785-1789, the taxation and the
transformation of the society from agricultural to industrial.


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