The starting point of French Revolution can be dated back to what's known as the ‘flour war’ of 1775 - which is widely regarded as the last of the ‘great spontaneous food …show more content…
Turgot, inspired by the ideologies of the American revolution had sought out to reform France through rational policies and had presented these ideas to the king, which garnered his support. However, the lower class peasants could not afford these new inflated prices and as a result reacted with great hostility as they saw these reforms as the government’s attempt to starve them. The middle and upper classes also showed hostility, as they previously had benefited greatly with the old reforms and were concerned that these new reforms would threaten their livelihoods. The reforms were quickly repealed, culminating in Turgot’s resignation. “The flour war illustrates the tightly tangled web that France was. Reform was needed, but changing the intricate and interconnected customs of the social, economic, and political spheres was no easy task. Despite his intentions to improve conditions, Louis XVI would prove neither confident enough nor decisive enough to implement change” . The Flour War was one of several crises that would happen during the reign of Louis XVI, causing a great deal of financial problems. It was these financial issues that would expose the fault lines in French society and ultimately threaten the Old Regime and the rule of Louis