What economic inequalities existed in France before the French revolution of 1789?

Answer 1

There were three estates in France before the French Revolution. There was the First Estate that was the Roman Catholic Clergy and made up 1% of the population. The key role of the First Estate was that they were Bishops and Priests, they also had to pay no taxes. The Second Estate was made up of the nobility. The key role of the Second Estate was that they held key positions in the government and in the military and like the First Estate they too did not have to pay taxes. Now the Third Estate was broken up into three categories in order: on top was the Bourgeoisie, than it was the Sans Culottes, and at the bottom was the peasants. The Bourgeoisie's' role in the was not very important, they were factory owners, lawyers, and doctors, they were rich but not rich enough to be a noble. Sans Culottes became the nickname for pride in France, it meant "Without knee breeches," you only had knee breeches if you were rich or of nobility(meaning rich). They were the artisans and the workers of France, they worked as: shoe makers, carpenters, bricklayers, dressmakers, and laborers. At the bottom was the peasants. These people were the very poor, hungry, and cold. They worked on nobles' fields, they also had to pay very very heavy taxes, not only did they have to pay rents and fees to the landowners, but 10% of what they made went to the church. Also, even on top of that they had to perform labor such as working on roads, without pay; peasants had miserable lives and had no hope of getting a better life. The Third Estate made up 97% of the population and the only ones that had to pay taxes. When it came to voting each Estate had one vote, and every time it came when they were voting on if the First and Second Estates had to pay taxes the First and Second Estate always teamed up upon the Third Estate. This is a cartoon of what the Three Estates were like and how the First and Second Estate the Third Estates. The two people on top are the First and Second Estate crushing the Third Estate.

Answer 2

The 1st estate was represented by the Clergy.

The 2nd estate was represented by the Nobility.

The 3rd estate was represented by the Bourgeoisie.

The 1st and 2nd estate were very privileged classes. The people belonging to them, didn't have to pay taxes, got high places functions, big pensions etc. But the 3rd estate did have to pay taxes, and at that time they were sky high (since France was bankrupt), also they were the common people, so they didn't get the high placed functions or big pensions. They could hardly feed their families, while they did see the 1st and 2nd estate live their lives in luxury.