Under the ancien regime (society before the French Revolution in 1789) French society was divided into what were called estates, or social orders. These were upheld both by tradition and law. There were three estates, which were structured as follows.
The First Estate encompassed the Catholic clergy. This included senior Church positions (bishops, abbots, etc.) and technically the poor parish priests who ministered to peasants in the French countryside. Higher Church officials, many of whom were also secular nobility, enjoyed considerable privileges. They were exempt from taxation and collected revenue from tithes and other fees.
