> I think the French were a little too hard on Marie Antoinette If you're referring to the "why can't they eat cake?" thing, she didn't actually say that. I b

> I think the French were a little too hard on Marie Antoinette If you're referring to the "why can't they eat cake?" thing, she didn't actually say that. I believe there was a completely unrelated girl around the same time who said something more like "why can't they eat brioche?", but that alluded to a custom of baking brioche loaves with a knobbly bit on top which people would tear off and give away, so the question had the meaning of "why can't the poor rely on private charity rather than state support?" Still not the most endearing line imaginable, but nowhere near as dumb as is usually supposed.