How did French support for the American Revolution contribute to France’s financial crisis?

French support for the American Revolution significantly exacerbated France’s financial crisis by imposing prohibitive costs on the royal treasury. During the 18th century, colonial and naval wars were exceptionally expensive, and the French monarchy lacked the means to sustain such high expenditures without destabilizing its fiscal health.12

The financial strain was compounded by the government's attempt to fund this participation through loans rather than additional taxation. Jacques Necker, the director general of finance, famously attempted to conceal the resulting deficit in his 1781 Compte rendu au Roi by claiming a surplus. Ultimately, the immense debt incurred from these military efforts drove the government to the brink of bankruptcy. This fiscal desperation forced Louis XVI to summon the Estates-General in 1789 to address the budget crisis, an action that inadvertently triggered the French Revolution.324