Chapter Two - Debt and Decadence

CHAPTER TWO

Debt and Decadence

FRANCE WASN’T BROKE because it was poor. It was broke because it was stupid.

Let’s start with the obvious: money was the problem. Not the only problem, but definitely the loudest one. France had a spending addiction and no plan to pay for any of it. There would be wars, palaces, parties, more wars, more palaces, and then some guy in a wig would come in and say, “Hey maybe we should chill,” and they’d fire him.

The government had been bleeding cash for decades. First the Seven Years’ War, then the American Revolution. France sent troops, ships, and gold to help the Americans stick it to the British, mostly just for revenge. They didn’t win anything. They just won the bill.

By the 1780s, the state was buried in debt and burning through more just to keep up appearances. Versailles was still running like the old days. The king had a fleet of servants, constant banquets, and a wardrobe budget that could feed a province. Marie Antoinette had her own private village built so she could play pretend-peasant in a silk dress. Meanwhile, real peasants were selling furniture to buy bread.

And that tax system was a joke. The people with the most money paid the least. The First and Second Estates had loopholes, exemptions, and centuries of privilege backing them up. The Third Estate got the bill. Land taxes, salt taxes, bread taxes, fees, dues, and tithes. You couldn’t walk through your own village without owing someone for something.

The king tried to fix it. Kind of. He hired smart guys. Finance ministers. Economists. People who could actually count. One of them, Jacques Necker, told him straight: stop spending and tax the nobles. Louis said maybe. The nobles said no. Necker got fired.

This happened a lot. Every time a guy with a brain showed up, the elites freaked out, and Louis backed down. He wasn’t evil. He just had no spine. His version of leadership was waiting to see who yelled the loudest, then picking the path of least resistance.

The people noticed. And when the bread prices jumped, they stopped caring about court gossip. They started blaming the whole damn system.

The rumors about Marie Antoinette didn’t help. The "let them eat cake" line wasn’t real, but by then, it didn’t matter. People were angry. They needed a villain. She wore diamonds. They couldn’t afford flour. That was enough.

By 1788, France was flat broke and out of tricks. The king couldn’t borrow more, couldn’t raise taxes, and couldn’t pretend things were fine. His final move was to call the Estates-General. He thought it would calm things down. He thought it might give him cover. What it actually did was light the fuse.