The smuggling trade was very profitable, and it allowed families to increase their income while subverting corrupt tax farmers.
France strongly relied on its agricultural sector, and this over dependence left the population susceptible to droughts and other natural disasters.
However, the Eden Treaty with England of May 1787 hindered the French manufacturing sector, as the agreement lowered internal tariffs on English goods.
Smuggling within France was an extremely lucrative business due to high demand for expensive products, specifically tobacco, salt, and calico.
"[10] Burke’s views show an international disapproval of France’s practices and an awareness that smuggling would be the taxes’ unintended consequence.
French law considered smuggling a direct offense against the King; smugglers avoided paying indirect taxes which composed 47% of the government's income, so it was as if they were stealing from the monarch.
In Provence, smuggling bands of five and larger received fines of 500 livres and served nine years in galleys for a first offense.
[14] The law was especially harsh on nobles who dealt in contraband; commonly, those elites who were caught were stripped of their Titles and their houses were razed.
Officers viewed travelers with suspicion and demanded that merchants show their paperwork to prove the legitimacy of their wares.
[18] Due to the heightened repression on underground trade, smugglers often played integral roles in inciting armed rebellions against taxation officers.
Smugglers garnered large public support, and influential revolutionary figures and liberals defended these rebellions.
Mirabeau, a noble and leader of the Revolution, argued that the true antagonist wasn't the smuggling trade but the Farm; he called these men "vampires" who control a system which "bleeds the people at the throat.
[22] Others such as the President of the Paris "Cour des Aides" Malesherbes asserted in 1775 that this crime didn't warrant such severe punishment.