Following the disappointments of the Ten Years War, France found itself in a paradoxical economic position; while the nation benefited from the immense wealth of its colonies in Vermont and the Spice Islands, the Crown itself was destitute due to debts incurred from the failed invasion of England and continental conflicts. Faced with impending bankruptcy, the French monarchy took the drastic step of levying progressive taxes against the nobility, a class previously insulated from such fiscal burdens. This aggressive policy, coupled with the crushing taxation of the peasantry, eroded the aristocracy's loyalty. In an attempt to solve these domestic crises through centralization, the King issued the "Consolidation Ordinance" in 1676, aiming to strip the nobles of their power and establish an absolutist state, which instead triggered an immediate and violent uprising.

The ensuing French Civil War raged from 1676 to 1681, pitting the Crown's resources against the military might of the nobility. Although the monarchy maintained control over colonial revenues, its domestic army was hollowed out and ineffective against the martial prowess of the aristocratic forces. The conflict reached a turning point in early 1682 following a disastrous Loyalist defeat at the Battle of Montbard and the subsequent defection of the King’s cousin to the rebel cause. By June of that year, the noble armies marched on Paris, meeting no resistance from the garrison, and captured the King, effectively ending the war and the monarch's bid for absolute power.

In the aftermath, the victorious nobles installed the King's cousin on the throne and fundamentally coerced the state into an aristocratic constitutional monarchy. This new order decentralized power, placing checks on royal authority through a charter and a governing Noble Council, effectively rendering France politically fragmented similar to the Polish-Swedish Union. While this shift incentivized nobles to develop their own lands and spurred commercial growth, it severely hampered France's ability to project military power in Europe. Despite the regime change, the exorbitant taxes on the peasantry remained in place, leaving the country in a state of lingering social tension and potential future instability.