Social class in Paris in the nineteenth century determined how people lived, worked, interacted, traveled, and
relaxed. Each class participated in and responded to the rapid changes of the era differently. Urbanization and
industrialization increased the standard of living for the average Parisian, but the wealth gap between rich and
poor remained very wide. Social classes diversified, fragmented, and expanded to accommodate many newly created
occupations.
Nineteenth
Century Parisian
Upper Class
and other signs of feudalism
were outlawed; with the return of
the monarchy, aristocratic titles
and heraldry were reinstated and
strictly regulated.
Power and Money
Nobility and New
Wealth
Early in the 19th century, the old
hereditary aristocracy and the
new wealthy mixed socially and
evolved into the modern upper
class. Earlier, in feudal
continental Europe, every
member of a noble family was
considered nobility and all were
entitled to bear coats of arms.
This practice among the
hereditary aristocracy resulted in
an enormous number of European
titled families whose
descendants tended to marry
only members of other titled
families. Royal and noble
families formed a centuries-old,
distinct, aristocratic social class
in France. After the French
revolution, titles, coats of arms,
In 19th century France, the
reestablished hereditary
aristocracy of royal relatives and
noble families, along with the
newly wealthy entrepreneurial
landholders, dominated the
economy, politics, and society.
This dominant aristocratic upper
class controlled the material
production, as well as the
production of ideas, established
cultural style, and dictated
political doctrines. At the
beginning of the century, the
wealthiest 5% of the French
populace possessed 33% of the
nation’s income, and paid very
little income tax. The upper class
possessed largely inherited
wealth and property.
Lifestyles of the Rich
and Upper Class
The wealthiest of the upper class
moved their residences as far
away as possible from the
crowded slums of the poor; they
rode through the city streets in
horse drawn carriages while
everyone else walked. When city
life became oppressive and
unpleasant, upper class families
took journeys into the
countryside, as their aristocratic
ancestors had. They luxuriated at
their vast inherited or purchased
country chateaus while lower
class servants, tenant farmers,
and sharecropping laborers
worked to produce income for
them and maintain their grand
lifestyle. Their upper class
lifestyle included theatre, opera,
entertaining, feasting, and
dancing, and required the
constant acquisition and
consumption of luxury goods; a
family could spend the equivalent
of at least $10,000 a year on meat
alone. They were the most envied
and admired members of society;
from the 17th to 19th centuries,
leading theatre characters were
almost exclusively individuals of
wealth and social position.
or walking around the ballroom
without escorts (prearranged,
usually male acquaintances or
mature women relatives).
Gentlemen were instructed that
no lady should be left unattended
and alone at any time.
Nineteenth
Century Parisian
Middle Class
Mind Your Manners
For the upper class, social
behaviors were seriously scripted,
strictly observed, and were often
mocked and caricatured. Ladies
were taught to dance with easy,
becoming and graceful
movements to be more pleasing
to the gentlemen, but were also
instructed to refuse to dance with
any gentleman with whom they
were not already acquainted
without a proper introduction.
Ladies were warned not be too
hasty in filling in their dance
cards (literally writing in the
names of those gentlemen who
had requested and been granted
permission to dance), but to leave
some dances open for any male
friends who might arrive later in
the evening. Ladies were
prohibited from attending balls
During the 19th century, the
middle class, also called the
classes moyennes or bourgeoisie,
grew from the groups of 18th
century commercial and
industrial capitalists. At the same
time, many new occupations were
created which primarily used
mental skills rather than physical
labor; the number of individuals
and families in these careers
exploded in number, creating a
substantial, and eventually
dominant, middle class.
Booming Bourgeoisie
That’s Entertainment
In 19th century Paris, the middle
class generally included the white
collar occupations: bankers and
money lenders, industrial
entrepreneurs, doctors, dentists,
engineers, architects, chemists,
accountants, surveyors, managers
of private and public institutions
(businesses, academies and
hospitals), manufacturers,
teachers, nurses, merchants and
shopkeepers, bookkeepers,
salesmen, and clerks. As the
manufacturing businesses grew
larger, they needed a large
hierarchy of middle class
supervisors and managers..
Teaching was an important
avenue of upward social mobility
for many as it did not require
capital, property, or family
connections; university teaching
provided the most upward
mobility through a wellestablished occupational
hierarchy.
After mid-century, successful
upper-middle class, the bonne
bourgeoisie, financiers,
industrialists and businessmen
aspired to rise in society, and so
they earnestly emulated the
aristocratic upper class by
enjoying entertainment, art, and
culture, and by relaxing at their
rented or newly-built country
homes on vacations and
weekends. By the mid-19th
century, theatre had become a
favorite pastime of the middle
class; the most popular
productions portrayed men and
women of upper class and middle
class breaking rules of sexual and
social behavior. Middle class
social climbers relied on
conspicuous consumption to
indicate their higher social status;
they rode in privately owned
horse carriages, enjoyed more
expensive entertainment and
leisure activities more frequently,
and hired additional domestic
servants.
Gaining Power and
Earning Money
During the 19th century, the
middle class became increasingly
successful and class conscious,
and began organizing and
agitating to gain more political
power. The middle class
protested the concentration of
wealth by the financial
monopolies and sought a more
powerful political role to match
their increasing economic
importance and support their
financial interests.
Lifestyles of the Bonne
Bourgeoisie
The middle class Parisian
lifestyle was characterized by
comfortable housing and lavish
dining. Originally renters, by the
end of the century, most middle
class families owned their own
homes. The average middle class
family with an annual income
equivalent to at least $10,000
spent 25% of it employing 10 or
more servants. Food consumed
the largest portion of their annual
budget. Their favorite leisure
centered on recreational eating
with family, friends and
important guests; with the aid of
many servants, they hosted lavish
dinner parties with eight or nine
separate courses. Often they each
selected a different day of the
week on which to hold their
events to avoid scheduling
conflicts. In warm months, they
held country picnics prepared and
served by domestic help. Middle
class Parisians spurred the
aesthetic development of French
cuisine as they ate more
frequently in public restaurants.
By 1900, a restaurant guide to
Paris listed nearly 1000 places to
eat in the city. Changes in
culinary tastes and dining patterns
indicated the changing social and
cultural values of the Parisian
bourgeoisie.
Values and Vices
In the 19th century, the middle
class in Paris held values which
included a reverence for common
sense, hard work, discipline and
family ties, diligence towards
regular church attendance, and
dedication to Christian morality.
Many in the middle class claimed
to regard gambling, drinking, and
sexual pleasure as sinful. Some
middle class individuals (mostly
women) married into noble
families. Many middle class
marriages involved large dowries
and detailed nuptial contracts.