Lefebvre's Bourgeoisie Revolution

Lefebvre argues that on a fundamental level, “It was the aristocracy that precipitated the Revolution by forcing the king to call the Estates – General” but goes on to iterate that “the issue was not so much political in character as social; for the transformation of the monarchy into a constitutional government was a reform on which nobles and the bourgeoisie agreed”. He states that although the nobility (Second Estate) and the bourgeoisie (Third Estate) were in accordance regarding the abolition of the absolutist Bourbon monarchy of the Ancien Regime, the insistence of the nobility to maintain its concessions and social stature led to the rise of the bourgeoisie and the ‘bourgeoisie revolution’ characteristic of Lefebvre’s interpretation.