How did the ideas of the enlightenment influence the french people in the years leading up to the french revolution?

The ideas of enlightenment were that people should not be ruled by monarchs who inherit their titles, but that they should educate themselves and rise in their social environment. French revolutionists were inspired by this and wanted to remove their king from the throne.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau's The Social Contract persuaded them to view practices like inherited privilege and absolute monarchy as irrational.