Public Opinion: Pamphlets, Cafés and New Ideas

By the 1780s a new force called 'public opinion' had emerged in France, and both the crown and its critics appealed to it. Ideas associated with Enlightenment writers, such as the social contract, natural rights and criticism of arbitrary power, circulated far beyond philosophers through cheap pamphlets, newspapers, cafés, reading clubs and Masonic lodges. Literacy was rising, especially among men in towns and in northern France.

Scandal sheets and illegal 'underground' literature mocked courtiers and the queen, eroding the monarchy's sacred aura. When censorship weakened in 1788–89, a flood of political pamphlets appeared. Historians debate how far ideas caused the Revolution: some see Enlightenment thought as a direct cause, while others argue that ideas mattered mainly once the financial crisis had already opened a political space, giving people words to express grievances they already felt.