The Mistress of the King, Madame Pompadour

Louis the fifteenth was massively unpopular, and he knew it. His weak, incompetent, corrupt regime damaged the credibility of the french monarchy so badly that it arguably never recovered. The royal government was deeply in debt and hemorrhaging money. Louis ministers had made a few poorly co ordinated attempts to raise more revenue and reduce expenditures. It's a sad irony that his comparatively blameless successor was the one who suffered so much for the monarchy's failures. In 17 74, the people of france were rejoicing. But that was still in the future.