The French Revolution was primarily caused by a combination of social inequality, financial crises, and the influence of Enlightenment ideas. The rigid class system, with the First and Second Estates (clergy and nobility) enjoying privileges while the Third Estate (commoners) bore heavy taxation, sparked widespread resentment. Economic difficulties, including debt and famine, exacerbated public discontent. Influential Enlightenment thinkers like Rousseau and Voltaire inspired revolutionary ideas about liberty and equality, ultimately leading to the uprising against the monarchy and the establishment of a republic in 1789.