Turgot also set to work to establish free trade in grain, but his edict met with strong opposition although it won the praise of intellectuals. Turgot was hated by those who were interested in speculations in grain, but his worst enemy was the poor harvest of , which led to a rise in the price of bread in the winter and early spring of — The so-called Flour War of , a series of riots against the high price of flour and bread, followed.
Turgot showed great firmness in repressing the riots and the king loyally supported his decisions. Turgot, originally considered a physiocrat, is today best remembered as an early advocate for economic liberalism.
All this time Turgot had been preparing his famous Six Edicts , which were finally presented in Two of them met with violent opposition: the edict suppressing forced unpaid labor and the edict suppressing certain rules by which the craft guilds maintained their privileges. In the preamble to the former, Turgot boldly announced the abolition of privilege and the subjection of all three estates to taxation although the clergy were afterwards excepted. Soon nearly everybody was against Turgot.
The queen disliked him for opposing the grant of favors to her proteges, which played a key role in the end of his career. In , he was ordered to resign. In , JacquesNecker was made director-general of the finances since he could not be controller because of his Protestant faith. He gained popularity by regulating the finances through modest tax and loan reforms. His greatest financial measures were his use of loans to help fund the French debt and raisin interest rates rather than taxes.
He also advocated loans to finance French involvement in the American Revolution. In , he published a work Compte rendu , in which he summarized governmental income and expenditures, giving the first-ever public record of royal finances.
It was meant to create a well-informed, interested populace. However, the statistics presented by Necker were completely false and misleading.
He wanted to show France in a strong financial position when the reality was actually bleak. France was suffering financially and Necker was blamed for the high debt accrued from the American Revolution. While at court, Necker made many enemies because of his reforming policies. The king would not reform taxation to bring in more money to cover debts, nor would he allow Necker to be a special adviser because this was strongly opposed by the ministers. Yet in , the country had been struck by both economic and financial crises, and Necker was called back to the office to stop the deficit and save France from financial ruin.
He was seen as the savior of France while the country stood on the brink of ruin, but his actions could not stop the French Revolution. He advocated doubling the representation of the Third Estate to satisfy the people.
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Necker's second ministry began in August , when Louis XVI recalled him to office after agreeing to convoke the Estates General to deal with France's fiscal crisis.
On Necker's advice, Louis XVI agreed to the doubling of the number of delegates from the Third Estate, but after some hesitation he rejected the vote by head demanded by the Third Estate, and he also rejected Necker's suggestion for a compromise.
Influenced by the most conservative nobles, the King, who now planned to use force against the Estates General, dismissed Necker on July 11, , because he regarded him as too sympathetic to the Third Estate.
Necker's departure from office contributed to the unrest in Paris that culminated in the storming of the Bastille on July 14, Necker, however, distrusted by the nobles and soon by the deputies to the legislature, could not cope with the fiscal crisis and the demands for radical reforms. In September he retired from public office for the last time and returned to Switzerland.
Necker died on April 4, The most scholarly biographies of Necker are in French. Useful background works include Hippolyte A. Taine, The French Revolution 3 vols.
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