French lords

France was still essentially a feudal nation with lords, due to a range of ancient and modern rights from their peasants who comprised about 80 percent of the population and the majority lived in rural contexts. France was a predominantly agricultural nation, even though this agriculture was low in productivity, wasteful, and using out of date methods. An attempt to introduce modern techniques from Britain had not succeeded. Inheritance laws, 1 estates were divided up among all the heirs, had 2 France divided into many tiny farms; 3 the large estates were small when compared to other European nations. The only major region 4 large-scale farming was around Paris, where the always hungry capital city provided a convenient market. Harvests were critical but fluctuating, causing famine, high prices, and riots.