There was a division between the 'higher' and 'lower' aristocracy, with the 'higher' nobility living at Versailles and the 'lower' nobility often resenting their power and wealth
Louis XVI was deeply religious and determined to rule well, but was weak and indecisive, and reluctant to accept the reality of the situation he found himself in
Many of the later revolutionary leaders, and Napoleon Bonaparte himself, were very well read and were influenced by the ideas of these Enlightenment thinkers
The writers wrote at a time when confidence in the French government was low, there was often famine and riots, and France had just been humiliated in a war with Britain
When the Ancien Régime collapsed after 1789, it was the Enlightenment thinkers who provided ideas that led the way forward for the new governors of France
An admirer of François Quesnay, he was the finance minister when Louis became king in 1775 and warned against further involvement in wars, but was ignored
The king approved Calonne's reform plans, but the Assembly of Notables, made up mostly of nobles and clergy, disliked Calonne and had no clarity on their role
The king's dismissal of the Assembly of Notables caused great anxiety and protest among the educated public, marking the start of the financial and political crisis leading to the revolution
Attempts by the finance minister Brienne to raise money through taxes and borrowing failed, as the parlement of Paris refused to support tax increases without an accurate picture of the royal accounts
By 1788 it was clear the state was virtually bankrupt, and the king's solution was to recall Necker as finance minister and summon the Estates General, which had not met since 1614
Demands in the cahiers de doléances from the three Estates
Clergy (First Estate): Retain Church rights and privileges, ban other religions, control education and publications, remain tax-exempt
Nobility (Second Estate): King should have sole lawmaking power, no tax changes without Estates General consent, strengthen Estate distinctions, reform legal system
Third Estate: Pay off national debt, equal taxation, end compulsory landlord work, reform justice system, abolish salt tax and hunting privileges, reform Church, local elections
The three Estates - clergy, nobility and commoners - met in different parts of the palace, each with an equal vote, but the king and ministers expected the First and Second Estates to support them against the Third Estate
The three Estates - the clergy, the nobility and the commoners - met in different parts of the palace, but each had an equal vote when it came to making decisions