this post was submitted on 17 May 2026
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The French monarchy’s isolation at the Palace of Versailles completely detached them from the starving Parisian population. While the peasantry faced severe bread shortages and crippling taxes, the court engaged in lavish spending and performative peasant simulation.
The Disconnect: Marie Antoinette built Hameau de la Reine, a rustic model village where she dressed as a milkmaid to play at peasant life.
The Reality: Real peasants were eating grass due to catastrophic harvests and systemic financial ruin.
Yup. Now are we going to learn this time or is it just a cycle we are doomed to repeat?
Those who don't learn from history, probably were homeschooled?
Edit to observe: when I visited Paris, in 1989, I was struck by the celebration of "baguettes! we have fresh baguettes!!!" apparently the presence of bread in the stores was (still?) and unpredictable / unreliable cycle for them. I also wandered into a crowded sandwich shop only to be told "no pain, NO PAIN!" meaning: we're out of bread and therefore will not be serving you.