Chapter 139: The Ultimate Weapon (Request for Double Monthly Votes)

The current situation in France is such that it should thank Providence simply for being able to pay the interest on its debts, as for repaying the principal? Ha, one doesn't even dare to dream of it in one's sleep.

Joseph's face tightened as he shook his head, thinking to himself that it would be great if all those banks that lent to the government could just go bankrupt...

Besides debt interest, another major "bleeding point" of France's finances is taxation.

The French Government now entrusts most of its tax collection to "Tax Farmers." Every year, Tax Farmers pay a lump sum to the government, after which they are free to collect taxes.

Estimates by later historians suggest that the actual amount of taxes collected by Tax Farmers each year exceeds the fee they pay to the government by more than one-eighth.