Pacte de Famine
Pacte de Famine (French pronunciation: [pakt də famin], Famine Pact) was a conspiracy theory adopted by many living in France during the 18th century. The theory held that foods, especially grain, were purposely withheld from them, for the benefit of privileged interest groups. During this period French citizens obtained much of their nourishment from grain.
The famine plot has roots in pre-revolutionary France, while some of its strongest manifestations were evident during the 1760s and 1770s. The collective mentality surrounding this conspiracy served as a tool for French citizens to make sense of the political environment at the time.
Between 1715 and 1789 the population of France increased by 6 million, from 22 million. Population growth and demographic changes during the 18th century help to explain the high demand for food, and lack of food supply at the time. Many faced hunger due to scarcity of food, and found it difficult to fend off illness. At times "bad grain" was blamed for making citizens sick.
From 1715–1774 Louis the XV was the ruling King of France. During his reign many people faced famine and other struggles, living in a society in need of reform. Louis the XV was criticized for his lack of leadership, which hindered necessary reforms from being made. In 1774 when his successor Louis the XVI took the throne, he worked early on to restore order within the kingdom. One of the first things he did was appoint Jacques Turgot as the Minister of Finances.
Turgot followed members of an early version of free market economics emerging in France at the time, inspired by Confucian teachings, known as Physiocracy. The physiocrats, or économistes as they called themselves, wanted to move away from Mercantilism, and felt it was possible to produce more value from the land. Dr. Francois Quesnay, Dupont de Nemours, and Vincent de Gournay were important pioneers of this movement and had a great impact on Turgot. Vincent de Gournay was the free market Intendant for Commerce and he and Turgot spent extensive time together. De Gournay’s opinion on what government economic policy should be was summarized in the term he laid claim to: "laissez faire, laissez passer", meaning leave it alone and let it pass, also known as the "invisible hand" notion. This economic principle did not favor government regulation and involvement in commerce. Turgot passionately defended Gournay’s belief in "laissez-faire" economic principles in his writing "Éloge de Gournay".
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