The divisions in French society led to injustice which ultimately resulted in French Revolution. In this context discuss the social divisions in France.
The Social division in France existed in the following three estates :
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First Estate It comprised of the Church and the clergy. They enjoyed certain privileges by birth. They were exempted from paying taxes to the state. The church levied ‘Tithe’ tax, which comprised of one-tenth of the agricultural produce to the third estate.
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Second Estate They were big aristocrats and landlords. They were considered above law and exempted from paying taxes to the state. The nobles enjoyed feudal privileges. These included feudal dues, which they extracted from the peasants.
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Third Estate This comprised the peasants, artisans, city workers and the middle class people like teachers, doctors, lawyers, writers etc. All such people had no political rights. They had to pay direct taxes like Tithes’ and ‘Taille’ and also many indirect taxes. The burden of taxes was borne by the third estate alone. This class faced lot of injustice, and suffered a lot. The revolution which is known as the French Revolution in history was started by the third estate.