Aim: What were the causes of the French Revolution?

Do Now: Why was the French Government bankrupt in 1787? (think of more than one or two reasons)


By 1787, the French government was bankrupt. It was 4000 million livres in debt. France had spent a lot of money fighting costly wars, but had nothing to show for it. Many people accused the royals, especially Queen Marie- Antoinette of spending too much money on luxuries. Others said that the tax system was corrupt and
some tax-collectors did not hand all their taxes over to the government.
In 1787 the King asked the nobility to help him reform the tax system. As we already know,members of the first and second estate did not have to pay some taxes. King Louis XVI wanted them to start paying some of them. It is not surprising that they refused to do so.