bankrupt would have led to utter andcomplete disaster. It would mean great embarrassment ofitself to its people and to the rest of Europe, not tomention agitate its domestic investors.Another fairly big component of the national debtwas the life of the Royal, and essentially, the greatPalace at Versailles. Versailles began to fascinate fromthe first day it was open. It has also been described atthe an act of enormous self-forbearance and an tumescentego. Its cost, in essence, bankrupted the nation.Versailles symbolized the eminence of the powerfulmonarchy, but was also the mark of its decline. Its costto the country is assessed not only by its originalconstruction, and by the extravagant lifestyle of theRoyal, but also in terms of -8-the boundary it lay between the Court of Royals and thethird estate. Louis XVI understood the royal financial problem. Ithad been traced back to his grandfather, Louis XIV andLouis XV, both leaving a tremendous debt in Louis XVI’shands at the beginning of his reign. His brother, Comted’Artois and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were quitechaotic spenders. Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI weremarried by arrangement in order to stop the years ofwars between France and Austria. She lived a ratherlonely life after she left her home country. It seemedspending money was the only way to amuse her. She spentmoney insanely on lavish clothing, diamonds, almostanything to appease her desires. The King, too, could never refuse the Queenanything and he always gave way to her whims.The palace had never been more expensive to operatethan when Louis XVI took hold of the throne. Hisexquisite tastes, his spending habits for himself andhis Queen, and his entertainment of the nobility alladded to be the highest expenditure the palace had everseen. His unnecessary extravagant life and those of thenobility at Versailles consumed over ten percent of thenational -9-budget, about a fifth of the national budget that wasnot con...
