Question

why were the bourgeoisie so upset before the french revolution

Answer 1

Because they were relegated to the Third Estate, a political group that represented about 96% of the population but could be outvoted in the Estates General by the First (clergy) and Second (nobles) Estates. Specifically, the First and Second Estates exempted themselves from taxes, leaving the burden of financing the kingdom to the Third Estate.

This was an especially pressing issue in the years leading up to the revolution because France had been plunged into a debt crisis through its support of the American War for Independence (it was so bad that 50% of the national budget was being used to service national debt - compare this with only 5% of the US budget servicing national debt in 2009). The bourgeoisie were not very keen on the idea of shouldering this burden alone. they wanted the First and Second Estates to pay a share of the debt.

However, when the King called for a meeting of the Estates General, the Third Estate, which asserted it was the true representative of the nation, was barred from the chamber, setting off a chain of events that ultimately led to the destruction of the power and privileges of the First and Second Estates.