Ancien Regime 〈PLUS〉

Comprising the Catholic Church, they owned roughly 10% of French land and were exempt from most taxes. They provided social services like education and healthcare but were often criticized for the vast wealth held by higher-ranking bishops.

The Ancien Régime (Old Regime) refers to the social and political system of the Kingdom of France from the Late Middle Ages until the French Revolution of 1789. It was characterized by a rigid hierarchical structure, an absolute monarchy, and a complex web of feudal privileges that ultimately became unsustainable under the weight of economic crisis and Enlightenment ideals. The Social Hierarchy: The Three Estates

Society was strictly divided into three "estates," a system that determined an individual's rights, taxes, and legal status: ancien regime

By the late 18th century, several factors converged to destabilize the regime:

Making up 98% of the population, this group included wealthy bourgeois merchants, urban workers, and rural peasants. Despite their numbers and economic contribution, they bore the brunt of the nation's taxation and had virtually no political voice. Political Absolute Monarchy Comprising the Catholic Church, they owned roughly 10%

This group held the highest positions in government, the military, and the courts. They owned about 25% of the land and enjoyed significant tax exemptions and the right to collect feudal dues from peasants.

Massive debt from wars (including support for the American Revolution) and a series of poor harvests led to widespread famine and skyrocketing bread prices. It was characterized by a rigid hierarchical structure,

Politically, the Ancien Régime was defined by the "Divine Right of Kings." The monarch, most notably Louis XIV (the "Sun King"), centralized power to an extreme degree. By housing the nobility at the Palace of Versailles, the crown stripped them of regional power, turning them into courtiers dependent on royal favor. However, this centralization created a bottlenecked bureaucracy that was slow to react to national crises. The Catalyst for Collapse