The inequality that existed in the French society in the old regime became the cause of the French revolution. Justify the statement by giving three suitable examples.

‘The inequality that existed in the French society in the old regime became the cause of the French revolution’. The three suitable examples to justify this statement were:

• To maintain the expenses of an army, court, government offices and universities, the French government imposed taxes. The taxes were only imposed on the third estate which includes – peasants, servants, lawyers, artisans, etc. Tithes were a tax imposed by the government on the peasants which include one-tenth of the total agricultural production. Taille was a type of direct tax, which had to pay by all the members of the third estate. Also, they were burdened with several indirect taxes. This made the lives of the members of the third estate worse.

• The passive citizens - It constituted about 3 million men, women, children and youth below 25. They have no Voting rights and to get the right to vote, they have to come in the highest bracket of taxpayers.

• The members of the third estate especially peasants faced inequality along with taxes, It became the duty of the peasants to provide services to the lord, to work in the field and in the army. The condition of the women was worse. They were not allowed to run business, to pursue education and no job training was provided to them.

All this proves that inequality existed in the French society in the old regime.