The French Revolution, like the American, was ultimately a victory for the merchant classes. No, it really wasn't. Many died during the revolution during the p

The French Revolution, like the American, was ultimately a victory for the merchant classes. No, it really wasn't. Many died during the revolution during the purges, and those that survived the wars and life under the dictatorship of the emperor. There's a reason there was another middle class revolution 40 years later (1830) and it wasn't because the merchant classes were doing really well, either under napoleon or the restored king after. The revolution lead to decades of tumult, and it's really difficult to see whether it was a net benefit or a net negative for the country or the middle classes. I suppose you could say the 1830 one was a victory for the middle classes in the long run.