The Old Regime in Crisis^439

(Left) Louis XVI. (Right) Marie-Antoinette.

cake!” when told that the people had no bread). The daughter of the Aus­
trian queen Maria Theresa, Marie-Antoinette was married to Louis to
strengthen dynastic ties between Austria and France. She never felt really at
home in France. Unhappy in her marriage, Marie-Antoinette lived extrava­
gantly and was embroiled in controversy. In 1785, she became entangled in a
seamy scandal when a cardinal offered her a fabulous diamond necklace in
the hope of winning favor. The necklace and some of the prelate’s money
were then deftly stolen by plotters, a strange scenario that included a prosti­
tute posing as the queen. The “diamond necklace affair,” as it was called,
seemed to augment the public image of the king as a weak man, a cuckold.
The queens reputed indiscretions and infidelities seemed to undercut the
authority of the monarchy itself. Her detractors indelicately dubbed her the
“Austrian whore.”
In the meantime, Necker continued to float more loans. But in 1781,
some ministers and noble hangers-on convinced the king to dismiss Necker.
Necker produced a fanciful account of the royal finances that purported to
demonstrate that more revenue was coming to the state than was being
spent. Necker hoped to reassure creditors that reform was unnecessary.
Bankers, however, did not believe Neckers figures and some refused to loan
the monarchy any more money until the state enacted financial reforms. The
new finance minister, Charles-Alexandre de Calonne (1734-1802), demon­
strated that Necker’s calculations of royal finances were far-fetched. Yet
Calonne spent even more money and put the royal treasury deeper in debt
by borrowing from venal officeholders to pay off creditors now gathered at
the royal door.
The parlements were certain to oppose fiscal reform, which they believed
would lead to an increase in taxation through a general tax on land. They
distrusted Calonne, whom they identified with fiscal irresponsibility and
governmental arrogance that some believed bordered on despotism.