Failure of the Monarch
King Louis XVI has generally been described by historians as an ineffective and weak leader. He relied too much on the opinions of his advisors and would do whatever it took to win the favour of the nobility. To make matters worse, his wife, Marie Antoinette, became very unpopular due to her Austrian heritage and her lavish spending habits.
For example, the king hired Jacques Necker to fix the taxation crisis and make the taxation system more fair. Necker pointed out that the Third Estate paid more than their fair share and recommended taxing the nobles and clergy. Fearing that he would lose the support of the First and Second Estates if he taxed them, Louis fired Necker instead. When word of this reached Paris, the Necker Affair, as it became known, became the tipping point that started the revolution.
Failure of France's Traditional Form of GovernmentIn times of crisis (generally financial problems), the king could call a meeting of the Estates General: the traditional assembly of mostly elected representatives from the three estates who would advise the king and approve taxation. Each estate would send representatives to meet in Paris and work with the king (and sometimes against the king) to solve the problem. They would also arrive with lists of their hopes and complaints—called cahiers—to be considered as new laws and decisions were made The Estates General had not met for almost 200 years prior to the French Revolution.
Necker invited the members of the Estates General to submit cahiers expressing their concerns. This unleashed a surge of public criticism against the monarchy, as people voiced concerns fuelled by Enlightenment writings. The most famous was written by Abbe Sieyes, a member of the clergy and an Enlightenment scholar. His famous pamphlet, What is the Third Estate? includes three short statements that summed up the mood of the Third Estate.
For example, the king hired Jacques Necker to fix the taxation crisis and make the taxation system more fair. Necker pointed out that the Third Estate paid more than their fair share and recommended taxing the nobles and clergy. Fearing that he would lose the support of the First and Second Estates if he taxed them, Louis fired Necker instead. When word of this reached Paris, the Necker Affair, as it became known, became the tipping point that started the revolution.
Failure of France's Traditional Form of GovernmentIn times of crisis (generally financial problems), the king could call a meeting of the Estates General: the traditional assembly of mostly elected representatives from the three estates who would advise the king and approve taxation. Each estate would send representatives to meet in Paris and work with the king (and sometimes against the king) to solve the problem. They would also arrive with lists of their hopes and complaints—called cahiers—to be considered as new laws and decisions were made The Estates General had not met for almost 200 years prior to the French Revolution.
Necker invited the members of the Estates General to submit cahiers expressing their concerns. This unleashed a surge of public criticism against the monarchy, as people voiced concerns fuelled by Enlightenment writings. The most famous was written by Abbe Sieyes, a member of the clergy and an Enlightenment scholar. His famous pamphlet, What is the Third Estate? includes three short statements that summed up the mood of the Third Estate.