3. The Slums Highlighted the Division Of Wealth in France
The reign of Louis XIV, known as the Sun King, was a time of absolute opulence for the aristocracy of France. Louis himself was a believer in the religious doctrine of the divine right of kings. He inhabited the lavish palace at Versailles and required that many members of the nobility live with him, where they would throw incredibly indulgent balls. While the nobles lived a truly gilded life in Versailles within the center of Paris, they were surrounded by utter squalor and poverty.
Due to poverty and famine, many rural residents of France fled to Paris throughout the 17th century looking for new sources of work and income. These refugees quickly found that joining the hierarchies of the slums were the only source of safety and income. They became beggars, thieves, prostitutes or other underworld denizens.
Louis XIV’s response to the Court of Miracles wasn’t to lower taxes, create social safety nets, or aid them in any other way. Instead, he established an office of police that was tasked with slowing the growth of the slums to preserve the wealthier parts of Paris. The increasingly large gap between the rich and the poor, combined with the lack of aid from Louis XIV during a period of stable monarchic rule, set the groundwork for the turbulent and violent period of the French Revolution in the 18th century.