ABSTRACT
A. THEORETICAL CONTROVERSIES, DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC TRENDS
EXPLAINING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
Since 1789 the French Revolution-whether viewed as a model to emulate or as a menace to avoid-has been at the center of debates on political change. It is unfortunate, then, that students of politics who look for an explanation of why the French state fell in 1789 now receive no clear answers from historians.
