How Far were the Parlements Responsible for Bringing About the End of the Ancien Regime - Essay Example

Introduction The French revolution is not only renowned in the history for the reason that it set foundations and carved models for the evolution of modern France, but also because this revolution initiating from France had great influence in other parts the world. The monarchical rule reigning during those times debilitated greatly after the beginning of revolution in the country underscored to a significant extent by the public. The political scenario of Ancien regime was based on a domination enjoyed by a single person, and this monarchy had its roots spanning several centuries. The revolution, therefore, could not take place all of a sudden; rather it was supported by an array of events that unceasingly shook the monarchical powers in that era one after another. The rage of Parlements against the government, the economic collapse and the financial downturn of Frenchmen paved way for the commencement of revolution. All these events took rise during the regime of King Louis XVI, debilitating the extent of his influence on the masses. Amongst all these factors, the parlements owing to their contravention against the King, are considered to have prominently led to the initiation of this revolution. This paper sheds light on the extent to which the parlements could be held responsible for bringing about the end of the Ancien regime. It also illuminates the motivation that made the parlements to take this stance against the government particularly in the era of the King Louis XVI. The Ancien Regime And The Parlements— An Overview There has been a long era of history associated with the parlements in the old French regime when it comes to the beginning and aggravation of spirit behind the French revolution. The Ancien regime is renowned for the continuation of monarchical rule on the part of kings spanning centuries. These regimes, without any constitution, kept the kings govern Frenchmen for several centuries on the basis of ministries. As Doyle states that, “until the revolution of 1789, French kings governed through a remarkably stable ministerial and conciliar system”1. It is however notable that albeit the whole system of ministries and parlements, the king happened to be the supreme sovereign. Every other role, worked to perpetuate the king’s rule and underscore his domination in France. The magistrates of court having prominent authority during the Ancien regime were referred to as the Parlement. Doyle elaborates, “the parlement of Paris was the highest court of appeal in a vast jurisdiction covering approximately one-third of the kingdom” 2. Parlements were the magistrates assigned by the government to register any law passed by the ruler and also, generally, to provide judgments on the cases that were brought before them. This is not to be implicated that parlements were merely unauthorized people working under the king’s dominance. Rather, these happened to be noble and prominent figures of those times, highly respected by the society as well as the government. In the context of the French revolution, the parlements should not be taken as against the monarchs at the outset. The enmity and agitation demonstrated by the parlements through the revolution was a reflection of some severe mistakes made by the kings concerning these people. Doyle also suggests that the contention between the monarchs and the parlements was not only subject to the reign of Louis XVI, rather it had its roots dating back to the mid 1600s when Louis XIV attempted to minimize the authority of parlements by restricting them on the presentation of remonstrances. They took it as threatening to their position in the state and thus began the contravention between the kings and the parlements3. Hence, the parlements rather proved to be friends-turned-enemies for the government who gradually made their way to exacerbating the revolution against the French monarchs. Parlements And The End Of Ancien Regime Having set the background underlying the aggression of parlements towards the kings’ rule in France, the question that is pre-eminent in its very essence happens to be of the role played by parlements in bringing an end to the Ancien regime and the fall of French monarchy. Albeit, the parlements are regarded as the prominent players of revolution in the French history, yet there seems to be other factors as well that came forward to support the agitation against the King Louis XVI. This can either be termed as the King’s misfortune or miscalculation that most of the events such as parlements aggression, and the economic crisis took their worst turn during his reign. Parlements did not altogether become active during the reign of Louis XVI, but also maintained their attempts to influence government’s actions also in the era of Louis XV. As they enjoyed great nobility and respect among the masses, people easily came under their influence. Merrick indicates that, “it was the Parlements of Paris, the most prestigious and most influential of the royal sovereign courts, that led the resistance to absolutism during the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI” 4. Due to this reason only, the Louis XV banned and restricted their activities of parlements to the extent that few of them were even exiled. However, in the era of Louis XVI, the parlements were restored, yet they continuously kept on jeopardizing the monarchical rule in France. Doyle propounds that, “without ever being revolutionary, the parlements expounded a set of legal principles, which, while not incompatible with royal sovereignty, acted as a brake on its exercise. Central to their claims was the right to free verification of the law” 5. Parlements wanted to exercise unquestionable authority on the French legislation in those times, which when threatened by the government, led them not only to act against the government measures, but also to curtail the King’s dominance by means of arousing people’s aggression. Remonstration on the part of parlements on the steps taken by government seemed to have paved a smooth way for the ignition as well as aggravation of the revolution. When parlements confronted with the issue of arousing public’s aggression against the King’s rule, the most valuable tactic they utilized was to inform people of the government’s injustices by means of remonstrations. Stone refers to this point as, “by remonstrating against royal edicts and delaying or suspending royal justice, the Parlements of Paris rallied opposition to the eighteenth century, thereby contributing to its downfall”6. Not only the remonstrations by the parlements affected the King’s image among the people, but also instigated a feeling of unfairness associated with imposition of taxes and autocracy. Merrick mentions that, “the parlementaires formulated remonstrances against clergy, tax collectors, and royal agents who misused their authority and abused the people”7. This served to be an important aspect of the initiation of revolution, which had obviously been triggered by the parlements. One of the consequences of these attempts of conjuring people’s hostility against the governments was the event encompassing the fall of Bastille. This event greatly turned the course of French politics and thus made the government realize the public power. As Merrick says that, “the fall of the Bastille thus gave birth to one of the central myths of the French Revolution: the unstoppable power of an aroused citizenry. The fall of the Bastille quickly resonated throughout France, then Europe, then the world”8. This did not only have its impact on the French political landscape but also greatly revolutionized the image of citizen power around the world. Before the revolution, the monarchs exercised absolute authority on the Frenchmen, being the sole rulers in the country. Nobody was ever allowed to question the government’s measures and activities, thus depriving people of their rights of citizenry. Merrick further elaborates that, “the Parisian parlementaires… did not simply relegate “subjects” to perpetual subordination while promoting the independence of “citizens”. They put both terms to work in opposing royal absolutism and explicating their own version of the unwritten substitution”9. This was the point where the parlements struck deep on the people’s minds. They did not only induce people to stand up against the dominant monarchy, but concealed in this move of parlements, was an idea to underscore their aristocracy in the French society. Apart from the view that parlements played a distinguished role in transforming the destiny of French people as well as government, there also happens to be other factors that led to the downfall of the monarchy in France. Haine illuminates that, “the most fundamental cause of the revolution was an economic depression that hit France after 1770. After a half century of unprecedented growth, the French economy suffered a series of severe setbacks”. 10 During the reign of Louis XVI, when the revolution specifically took a visible birth, several bad harvests struck the country that led to severe economic crisis. The government was already unable to cope with the acclivitous expenditures, this economic deterioration immensely affected the financial state of people The French economic growth plunged down that further disabled the government to provide basic necessities to the people. Doyle propounds that, “the relative decline of France as a military power after 1750, and the initial outbreak of revolution in 1789, had fiscal origins”11. The financial strains deep down in the country’s economy was also responsible to weaken the government’s influence on people. Owing to the economic and financial position of the government, it became much easier for the parlements to arouse people against the government. Hence, slowly and gradually, the revolution was fostered in the society and finally, the King had to lose his kingdom. The parlements succeeded in bringing people against the King, the impact of which could not certainly be overlooked. Haine illuminates that, “grounded in the Enlightenment notions of rationality, efficiency, and humanity, the legislators tried to rid France of the peculiarities and privileges of the monarchy. Although Louis XVI was to remain king, his power was strictly limited”12. There began the downfall of the monarchical rule in France strengthening the foundations of revolution all over the world. Eminent Motivating Factor Underlying Parlements Opposition During Louis XVI The contravention between parlements and the government grew at its peak soon after the accession of Louis XVI as the royal King. As mentioned earlier, the parlements were abandoned during the reign of Louis XV, and were finally reinstated in the era of Louis of XVI. Even then he was not able to curb the aggression of parlements against the King. This was mainly because of the reason that the “Louis XVI’s government did not restore the parliaments because it was bankrupt of ideas, nor was it blindly yielding to ephemeral public pressure”13 Certain conditions were undoubtedly imposed on the return of the parlements, which were the factors mainly responsible for the parlements’ conflicts with the government. Before the parliaments were abandoned by the King Louis XV, the parlements exerted great influence in the making of legislation and provision of justice to the people on the behalf of the government. The influence and authority comprising free creation of laws gave the parlements great power, which they did not want to forego upon the King’s will. Doyle says that, “during the reigns of both Louis XV and Louis XVI attempts to curb the powers of individual parlements through disciplinary edicts or exiles resulted in a complete cessation of the legal system within their jurisdiction” 14. This attempts by the two kings, in particular, during the era of Louis XVI enraged the parlements at large and further enhanced their opposition of the government. The radical move of King Louis towards restricting the influence and authority of parlements in the political system in the form of creating a new court as counter balancing the power of parlements further ignited their motivation to go against the King. Stone expounds that, “shortly after the accession of Louis XVI in 1774, the government had threatened to institute a “plenary court” in the future to judge any refractory magistrates who returned to the old tactic of striking against the regime”15. Hence, the greatest motivation that aroused the rage and opposition of parlement against the government was the insecurity that was instigated on the part of the government. Doyle further exposits that, “the overall result of these dispositions was that the judicial competence of the parlement was confined to the area immediately surrounding the capital, and this obviously had the effect of diminishing the influence it could exert” 16. In view of the rising hostility on the part of the parlements, the government tried to minimize their influence, which was unacceptable for the parlements. In implementation of this plan, the government even took major steps that could combat the power of legislators. Hence, the conflict further exacerbated which finally led to the downfall of the King’s rule. It would be, therefore, not wrong to state that the motivation for the parlements underlying the opposition of King Louis XVI in particular, was due to the fact that the King himself attempted to curtail the power of the parlements. This threatened the position of parlements in the society and led to severe conflicts between them and the government. It should also be noted that these conflicts were particularly initiated by the Kings during their reigns. Hence, the initiation of these contraventions with the parlements happened to be the greatest mistake of the monarchs that basically led to the downfall of their long preserved kingdom. Conclusion This paper evaluates the responsibility of parlements in bringing about an end to the French monarchy in the eighteenth century. Although this was also a consequence of a number of political, economic and financial events, yet the parlements played a great role in the beginning and exacerbation of the renowned revolution that led to the downfall of the Ancien regime. The parlements made great attempts to gradually debilitate the King’s rule and domination on the Frenchmen by means of remonstrations issued against the government. Not only that, they made use of their power by delaying the judgements and justice so as to aggravate the common people’s aggression towards the government. Besides, they also aroused people to stand up against the taxes levied upon them by the King and made them perceive the activities of government as unjust. The revolution particularly took wings during the period of King Louis XVI because of his attempts to curtail the power and influence of parlements in the legislation as well as the politics. For this purpose, the government restricted the parlements in the pursuit of lawmaking that greatly infuriated them. The King also planned to introduce a new court to further combat their eminence in the legislature. These attempts threatened the position of parlements in the political scenario and thus led them to take steps in the opposition of the government. The King, at that time, had to confront with a number of internal and external issues, and hence could not support his deteriorating image among the people. As a consequence, the revolution sparked among the masses and developed gradually leading to the downfall of his monarchical rule on the Frenchmen. Bibliography Doyle, William (ed.), Old Regime France 1648-1788: The Short Oxford History Of France, (Oxford University Press: US, (2001) Doyle, William, The Parlements of France And The Breakdown Of The Old Regime 1771-1788, (French Historical Studies, 1970), 6(4), pp. 415-458 Haine, W. Scott, History of France, (Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, (2000) Merrick, Jeffrey, Subjects And Citizens In The Remonstrances Of The Parlement Of Paris In The Eighteenth Century, (Journal Of The History Of Idea, 1990), 51(3), pp. 453-460 Stone, Bailey, Conservatism And Radicalism In the Paris Parlement, 1774-1789, (The Journal Of Modern History, 1977), 49(3), pp. D1307-D1327 Stone, Bailey, Robe Against the Sword: The Parlement of Paris And The French Aristocracy- 1774-1789, (French Historical Studies, 1975), 9(2), pp. 278-303 Read More