Describe French society before the French Revolution. Why were people unhappy and what led to the conflict?

French society was stratified with clear separations between the nobility and commoners, although those ideas were increasingly challenged due to the influence of Enlightenment thinking.

Explanation:

French society before the French Revolution was called the ancien régime and it was divided into three estates: three estates: the First Estate (clergy); the Second Estate (nobility); and the Third Estate (commoners). The Enlightenment introduced new and somewhat radical ideas for the times in terms of good government and the idea of popular sovereignty, like in Rousseau's Social Contract. There was a broadening influence of public opinion just before the crisis that brought about the Revolution and there were antagonisms between two rising groups: the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie. The nobility were trying to hold onto their influence and there were more and more people claiming nobility. There were also economic woes from too many foreign wars and food shortages that added to the crisis.