Wednesday, April 22, 2026

During the French Revolution, most of the country did not speak French.

World History

I n the early years of the French Revolution, a revolutionary named Henri Grégoire conducted a survey of language throughout the fledgling republic and discovered a concerning truth: Most people living in France at the time didn’t actually speak French. In 1794, he reported the results to the revolutionary assembly, stating that there were no more than 3 million French speakers (11% of the population), and even fewer who were able to write it. So what did people in France speak?

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By the Numbers

Estimated number of French language speakers today

320 million

Year of the last execution by guillotine in France

1977

Did you know?

Bread played a major role in igniting the French Revolution.

While the cause of the French Revolution is complex and multifaceted, one of the major grievances against the French crown was the availability of bread. To put it mildly, bread was a staple of the daily diet of a typical 18th-century French citizen. In fact, bread was so central to French society that the king became known as “le premier boulanger du royaume,” or “the first baker of the kingdom.” It’s estimated that 60% to 80% of a typical wage-earner’s family budget went to buying bread alone. Yet as France’s population increased throughout the 18th century, the monarchy implemented disastrous regulatory policies while neglecting to increase domestic production of bread. Then, disaster struck when a severe winter in 1788 delivered low crop yields, sending the price of bread soaring. With most of the French population living without sufficient access to bread, anger fomented in rebellion. On July 14, 1789, a band of Parisians stormed the Bastille in search of arms and also grain for making bread, marking the start of the French Revolution.