Question

Which economic factor was a chief cause of the French Revolution?

France did not have a middle class.

The First and Second Estates were less wealthy than the Third Estate.

King Louis XVI refused to share tax revenue with nobles.

The burden of taxes in France fell primarily on the Third Estate.

Answer 1

I'd put economic situation in first: France's finance ministers had just realized how much debt they were in (they were paying over half their yearly budget in interest alone) and the fact that all that debt was coming due.
Another factor was an attempt to reform the most inefficient system of taxes collection you've ever imagined. Tax farmers collected taxes and took huge amounts off the top. The aristocracy was exempt. The Church (which owned 20% of France's land) was exempted. And anyone who had any money bought themselves a small title (even as small as pig-counter) as even these titles were exempt from taxes. So the taxes fell on the poorest of the poor, who didn't really have a lot of money to begin with once it was eaten up (the price of bread increased due to a drought). The finance minister suggested one equal tax across orders. The 13 Parlements (nothing like Parliament in England, but instead made up of aristocrats keeping track of what could and could not be done and who basically passed the laws set to them) had a minor conniption. The king banned the Parlements from meeting and tried to pass it anyway. The Parlements met anyway and said they wouldn't put it down unless he called the Estates-General. Absolutism as an idea wasn't really absolute, but only seemed this way.

Rising price of bread: the price of bread skyrocketted (some say because of volcanic ash preventing a good harvest), and rose so that one couldn't afford both bread and rent.

Enlightenment philosophies did help a bit, being extremely popular in schools and salons.

Answer 2

Source: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100620164456AAZ8biI

Answer 3

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Answer 4

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Answer 5

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