King Louis XVI was on the throne at the time of the French Revolution. The peasants were ruled by local lords, to whom they had to pay taxes. There was discontent amongst the peasants as there had been bad harvests and rising food prices. The government of France was suffering economic difficulties and the king was weak and indecisive which made him unpopular. The monarch of France had absolute power and refused to share it with any form of parliament - "I have no intention of sharing my authority" were words allegedly spoken by King Louis XVI. This attitude led to him losing not only his... Show more

King Louis XVI was on the throne at the time of the French Revolution. The peasants were ruled by local lords, to whom they had to pay taxes. There was discontent amongst the peasants as there had been bad harvests and rising food prices. The government of France was suffering economic difficulties and the king was weak and indecisive which made him unpopular. The monarch of France had absolute power and refused to share it with any form of parliament - "I have no intention of sharing my authority" were words allegedly spoken by King Louis XVI. This attitude led to him losing not only his power but also his life. He was guillotined in Paris in January 1793, aged just 38.

The political and social system of France during the fifteenth to the end of the eighteenth century is called the Ancien Régime.

It was a system in which the position of king was inherited and the nobles ran a feudal system. Thanks to wars and other factors, the system was a mess. Despite that, France was a rich and powerful nation whose people enjoyed greater political freedom than many other European countries

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