How to avoid the French Revolution?

[Avrorrange]

Honestly, I think people are way too obsessed with the idea of eliminating parlements as being some miracle cure that’ll save France.

I’m too tired to give a long answer, but to quote Bailey Stone

Your quote shows nothing that the Parlements are a positive influence.That they are a counter to ‘extreme authoritarianism’ seemed like just another blanket statement tinted by modern democracy. I think you will need to point out how it helped to better the general citizenry as a whole. The Parlements in general have been very successful in terms of shifting the burden of taxes from the nobility to the lower classes by refusing to register taxes on the nobility but seem to turn a blind eye on the heavy taxation upon the general citizenry.

 

[Stalin1944]

Probably the way it dosen’t happen is the American Revolution fails and the King isn’t terrible and shares the money.

 

[VVD0D95]

Probably the way it dosen’t happen is the American Revolution fails and the King isn’t terrible and shares the money.

Or he kills the first few loud mouths, and uses propaganda ro show them as traitorous swine.

 

[Stalin1944]

Or he kills the first few loud mouths, and uses propaganda ro show them as traitorous swine.

That to

 

[Gloss]

Would taxing the second and first estates really fix the economic situation or even the ongoing food crisis?

 

[Avrorrange]

Would taxing the second and first estates really fix the economic situation or even the ongoing food crisis?

Would help for the foreseeable future.There are definitely a lot of problems with the French state like the lack of a central bank to negotiate sustainable interest rates for loans, inefficient taxation methods like tax farming and a general desire throughout the entire French society to take Perfidious Albion down without measuring their means of doing so.They literally cooked the books in order to get a loan to pay for the war against Britain.

 

[da Racontor]

Honestly, I think people are way too obsessed with the idea of eliminating parlements as being some miracle cure that’ll save France.

I’m too tired to give a long answer, but to quote Bailey Stone

I can't speak for everyone, but generally not restoring the parlements is not suggested as a cure all.

It is a way to give something else a chance to light the fire in a hope that the new fire would be more controllable.

 

[naraic]

Would taxing the second and first estates really fix the economic situation or even the ongoing food crisis?

You probably need to see redistributing tax burden and fixing the food crisis separately.

To fix the food issue you need to massively boost potato production and consumption. If you can avoid the parlement banning the cultivation of the potato weed as an agent causing leporosy it might help.

Yes the ban was removed in a few years but it did hurt the reputation of the potato.

 

[Avrorrange]

You probably need to see redistributing tax burden and fixing the food crisis separately.

To fix the food issue you need to massively boost potato production and consumption. If you can avoid the parlement banning the cultivation of the potato weed as an agent causing leporosy it might help.

Yes the ban was removed in a few years but it did hurt the reputation of the potato.

I think regaining Canada from the war and outsourcing the excess population may also help.

 

[da Racontor]

I think regaining Canada from the war and outsourcing the excess population may also help.

Were going to need a much further back POD to pull that off though.

 

[Fulano]

I think regaining Canada from the war and outsourcing the excess population may also help.

That would be an interesting idea, for sure. More interesting if they use Canada as a penal colony for political enemies, or for such enemies, or radical dissidents, to leave on their own to live the most far away they could from the King.

 

[wcv215]

The thing is, most of the budget was not actually spent on the splendour, but on the over-bloated military France had at the time and servicing interest of debt from existing wars.

Correct, but useful splendor was something that could be pointed to by those who opposed the crown’s reform efforts due to the massive hypocrisy they represented. The point wasn’t really to cut spending that mich, but to reduce how much resistance the notables put up, and hopefully eliminate it entirely. Something to get reform going ASAP before calling the Estates.

 

[Avrorrange]

Correct, but useful splendor was something that could be pointed to by those who opposed the crown’s reform efforts due to the massive hypocrisy they represented. The point wasn’t really to cut spending that mich, but to reduce how much resistance the notables put up, and hopefully eliminate it entirely. Something to get reform going ASAP before calling the Estates.

Honestly, it looked that way in large part because they were cooking the books with Necker for a few years during the ARW to make the finances look extremely good, and then scandals like the Necklace Affair broke out. Most people just couldn’t handle the truth and chose mental short-cuts.

 

[funnyhat]

I think regaining Canada from the war and outsourcing the excess population may also help.

France has 25 million inhabitants in 1789. Even if Canada hadn't been lost, there are far too many poor people to send away.

 

[Analytical Engine]

I'm wondering how much effect eliminating the Louisiana Bubble would have on France's finances. Or is that too far back?

 

[Avrorrange]

France has 25 million inhabitants in 1789. Even if Canada hadn't been lost, there are far too many poor people to send away.

Every bit helps.Of course they will need to do other things on top of finding a release valve for population pressure.

I'm wondering how much effect eliminating the Louisiana Bubble would have on France's finances. Or is that too far back?

If they can properly settle Louisiana then things would do pretty well.May even help win the French and Indian war.