the parlements
The aristocracy. :)
1800
Manon Tremblay has written: 'Femmes et parlements'
During the 18th century, criticism of the French monarchy also came from people who worked for the Old Regime. Some of the king's own ministers criticized past practices and proposed reforms, but a more influential source of dissent was the parlements, 13 regional royal courts led by the Parlement of Paris. The parlements were empowered to register royal decrees, and all decrees had to be registered by the parlements before becoming law. In this capacity, the parlements frequently protested royal initiatives that they believed to threaten the traditional rights and liberties of the people. In widely distributed publications, they held up the image of a historically free France and denounced the absolute rule of the crown that in their view threatened traditional liberties by imposing religious orthodoxy and new taxes.
Before the Revolution France was Absolute Monarchy under the Bourbon Kings, the Last of whom was King Louis XVI, there were a few checks on the power of King such as the power of the clergy, the local Parlements, and the Estates General After the Revolution France was a Absolute Monarchy under the Military power of Emperor Napoleon I
Charles I lost control due to his authoritarian rule, religious policies that alienated Parliament and sparked the English Civil War, and his attempt to dissolve Parliament. He was ultimately captured, tried, and executed for treason in 1649.
Despotism is reflected by the cruel and oppressive measures taken by an absolute dictator/monarch. However, in terms of the French Revolution, King Louis XVI did not take up such measures, and was not a despot in the sense that he oppressed the people. The people only perceived him to be a despot because of several "wrong" decisions that he made. This included the incident when he exiled the Paris parlements to Troyes when they refused to pass Calonne's tax reforms.The people also feared ministerial despotism.
When Louis XVI succeeded to the throne in 1774, he was 19. He had an enormous responsibility, as the government was deeply in debt, and resentment towards 'despotic' monarchy was on the rise. Louis also felt woefully unqualified for the job. He aimed to earn the love of his people by reinstating the parlements. While none doubted Louis's intellectual ability to rule France, it was quite clear that, although raised as the Dauphin since 1765, he was indecisive and not firm enough to rule.He was considered to be weak ad indecisive.
In 1783 Charles Alexandre de Calonne, a provincial noble, became royal finance minister. At first, he, like Vergennes, saw no need to rationalize the royal treasury or to appease the Parlements. By 1786, however, the deficit had become so huge-one-sixth of the total royal budget-that Calonne knew that reforms-meaning more taxes, or at least more loans-could no longer be put off. To obtain the support of regional nobles for such changes, the King called an Assembly of Notables. At the opening session, on 22 February 1787, Calonne addressed the assembly and proposed a uniform tax across the kingdom, to be administered by provincial assemblies of nobles and other elites. In other words, a royal minister was now suggesting that taxation privileges should be replaced by a fiscal policy that would apply to all equally.
When Louis XVI succeeded to the throne in 1774, he was 19. He had an enormous responsibility, as the government was deeply in debt, and resentment towards 'despotic' monarchy was on the rise. Louis also felt woefully unqualified for the job. He aimed to earn the love of his people by reinstating the parlements. While none doubted Louis's intellectual ability to rule France, it was quite clear that, although raised as the Dauphin since 1765, he was indecisive and not firm enough to rule.
Its main roles are:Examining and challenging the work of the government (scrutiny)Debating and passing all laws (legislation)Enabling the government to raise taxes