He meant that people began a riot against the government. This riot passed to History as the French Revolution.
Explanation:
French society underwent an epic transformation when feudal, aristocratic and religious privileges evaporated under a sustained attack by radical political groups, the masses on the streets and peasants in the country's rural region. Ancient ideas of tradition and hierarchy of monarchs, aristocrats and the Catholic Church were abruptly overthrown by the new principles of Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité. Amid a fiscal crisis, the French people were increasingly irritated by the incompetence of King Louis XVI and the continued indifference and decadence of the country's aristocracy. This resentment, coupled with the increasingly popular Enlightenment ideals, fueled radical sentiments and the revolution began in 1789 when the General States was convened in May.
