Although the bourgeois revolution in France destroyed the foundations of feudalism , it left quite a few of its survivals in economic and political life . Politically France was a more backward country , its monarchy having been restored after the defeat of Napoleon . The power of the king was restricted by parliament consisting of two chambers – the chamber of peers , whose members were appointed by the king , and the chamber of deputies who were elected by persons with annual incomes of at least 300 francs and living in the given area for a definite length of time . The deputies had to have an annual income of at least 1,000 francs . Naturally , that predetermined the composition of the parliament which acted in concert with the king and in the interests of the landowners . The king and parliament encouraged high prices heavy industry . on timber , of which charcoal was then being made for metallurgy , and thereby hampered the development of the The French government was also opposed to any agrarian reform . Agriculture played the most important part in the life of the country because industry was not yet sufficiently developed . But it was a small – scale , scattered agriculture , and capitalist methods of production were used only on one – third of the cultivated lands . Further development of agriculture was hindered by the half – rent system , according to which the tenant had to give the landowner half the crop . The tenants were therefore not interested in increasing the yield and the marketable surplus of agricultural production . Moreover , the government imposed on the peasant economies excessively high taxes which hampered the develop ment of commodity production . Further development of the French economy depended on a change in the political system , which was demanded by the industrial bourgeoisie and the proletariat . The French proletariat had gone through a good school of struggle against despotism and oppression and therefore actively joined the struggle against the existing system . The most class – conscious proletarians joined political clubs organised by the radical bourgeoisie . These clubs discussed the inter nal situation in the country and elaborated a programme for setting up a new government . But even the radical bourgeoisie refused to consider questions of raising the Wages , shortening the working day , improving the housing conditions , etc. The workers therefore began to organise their own clubs and to discuss the questions which were of interest to them . But they did not confine themselves to mere discussions . Driven to despair by their distressing material conditions , they often rose in arms against the existing system and their employers . For example , in 1831 the workers came out into the streets of Lyons demanding a raise in wages , but were fired upon by the troops . The workers seized arms , captured the city and established their own rule . The uprising was soon suppressed , but the Paris workers revolted the very next year , and in 1833 the proletarians of Lyons rose in arms again .

The Lyons uprisings showed that a new political force the working class – had entered upon the historical arena ; the workers began to realise that the interests of the bourgeoisie were opposed to the interests of the proletariat . After the Lyons uprisings the government passed a law prohibiting working – class organisations . The workers began to organise illegal societies . An organisation called Seasons and numbering about 4,000 or 5,000 members came into existence in Paris in 1839. The organisation was not connect ed with the masses and that was why , when its adherents tried to seize power on May 12 , 1839 , they were able to capture only the town hall with one police post , after which they were dispersed by gendarmes . The French government stubbornly refused to consider the demands of the people . The discontent with the government’s policy increased with each passing day . A revolution was impending in France .