The Lawyer, the Banker and the Bankruptcy: Debating Public Debt in France between 1787 and 1789

This article contributes to a better understanding of the public debt crisis in France between 1787 and 1789. The threat of a massive default on public debt played a key role for the beginning of French Revolution. Public debates on this matter converged with the questions about civil rights and the necessity of institutional reforms. 14th of July and the fact that Assemblee Nationale declared debt as "sacred" solved a crisis that shed into light some important questions such as the economic and social role of the state, and such as the complex consequences of public borrowing for society. This article analyses the institutional crisis related to the debt crisis that lead to Revolution and proposes the unprecedented study of a debate by pamphlets opposing Etienne Claviere and Simon- Nicolas-Henri Linguet that occurred between 1787 and 1789.