The cause of the French Revolution is a significant subject of historical ebate. France in 1789, although facing some economic ( especially taxation) difficulties and simplicities, was one of the richest and most powerful nations in Europe; further, the masses of most other European powers had less freedom and a higher chance of arbitrary punishment. At the time Louis XVI called the Estates-General of 1789, he himself was generally popular, even if the nobility and many of the king's ministers were not..