The French Revolution began before 1792.
Causes of the French Revolution . In order to resolve the crisis , the king summoned the Estates-General in May 1789 and , as it came to an impasse , the representatives of the Third Estates formed a National Assembly , against the wishes of the king , signaling the outbreak of the French Revolution . Estates General of 1789 in France . This signals the outbreak of the French Revolution . The French Revolution ( Révolution française [ ʁevɔlysjɔ̃ fʁɑ̃sɛːz ] ) was a period of far-reaching social and political upheaval in France that lasted from 1789 until 1799 , and was partially carried forward by Napoleon during the later expansion of the French Empire . A central event of the first stage , in August 1789 , was the abolition of feudalism and the old rules and privileges left over from the Ancien Régime .