The social and political system prevailing in France before the Revolution, characterised by an absolute monarchy and a rigid hierarchy of privileged and unprivileged orders, is generally referred to by historians as the:
Under the Old Regime, French society was legally divided into three Estates, of which the clergy and nobility, together forming the privileged orders, were generally exempt from most:
The Third Estate, comprising roughly 97 percent of the French population, was itself an extremely diverse group, including wealthy merchants and professionals (the bourgeoisie), as well as:
B. Peasants, artisans, labourers and the urban poor
4.
The educated, prosperous middle class of merchants, lawyers, officials and other professionals, who played a leading role in articulating revolutionary demands, is generally referred to as the:
D. The knee-breeches (culottes) associated with the upper classes, instead wearing long trousers
6.
Feudal dues and obligations that French peasants were still required to pay to their landlords under the Old Regime included compulsory unpaid labour services, generally known as:
