FRENCH SOCIETIES

UNDER THE OLD

REGIME
-THERE ARE THREE CLASSES IN FRENCH
SOCIETY
• THE FIRST
ESTATE(1%)
• THE SECOND
ESTATE(2%)
• THE THIRD ESTATE(97%)
-The vast majority of the
-High ranking members -Nobility people or the population.
of the Church. -Landowners,
Landlords, Knights -Prosperous bankers,
-Clergy, Bishops,
Merchants, Manufacturers,
Priests, Priestesses, -Also a privileged class Lawyers, Doctors, Journalists,
Pastors, etc..
Professors and mostly Peasants.
-Privileged class
-Not a privileged class
(Unprivileged class)

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The First Estate
• The first estate, which is made up of about one percent of the population was
divided into lower and upper class. The upper Clergies include bishops,
archbishops or abbots.
• Due to the high numbers of Roman Catholic in France, the clergymen were
mostly free from taxes and these men enjoy enormous wealth and privilege.
• The Church owned about 10 percent of the land and live luxuriously in their
large mansions and palaces.
• They also collect tithes from peasants.
• As for the lower class, parish priests who came from humble origins might
be poor as peasants.
• The Clergies did provide some services like schools, hospitals and
orphanages. 3
The Second Estate
• The second estate is made up of 2% of the population which consist nobility
such as Duke, Duchess, Count and countess etc..
• Most of the nobles have high positions in the army or military like
Commanders or Captains,
• Some nobles are included in Churches or courts and some nobles are also
free from taxes.
• Nobles also own lands and they collected rents from the people who live in
their land. They also live luxuriously and enjoy privileges.
• Though they owned land, they had little income.
• The nobles resented themselves as aristocracy and they feared losing their
positions and privileges, especially their freedom from paying taxes.

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The Third Estate(No special privileges and not free from taxes)
• The third estate include 97% of the people and consist of the bourgeoisie,
peasants and other urban workers.
• The bourgeoisie included prosperous bankers, merchants, and
manufacturers, as well as lawyers, doctors, journalists, and professors. The
bourgeoisie were almost as rich as nobles.
• Most are peasants and some of the bourgeoisie are also landlords and
landowners, they would hire workers to do their jobs.
• The poorest members of the 3rd estate were urban workers. They included
apprentices, journeymen, and others who worked in industries such as
printing or cloth making.
• Many women and men earned a living as servants, construction workers, or
street sellers. A large number of the urban poor were unemployed. And to
survive, some turned to begging or crime. They workers also get low wages.5