<u>During the Ancien Régime (17th and 18th centuries), France was an agrarian country and with recent industrialization. In this period, the country faced a problematic moment of social injustice, especially because of the social division that was the same as the medieval times.</u> The society governed by absolutism was divided into <u>three classes: the Clergy (first state), Nobility (second state) and the Third State, composed of 95% of the population. </u>Only 2.5% of the population was noble. <u>Like the clergy, they paid no taxes and had access to public office. In this class were the king, his family, and the nobles who frequented the palace.</u>
