Why did bread prices rise sharply in Paris before the storming of the Bastille?

The sharp rise in bread prices in Paris prior to the storming of the Bastille was primarily driven by a severe subsistence crisis caused by agricultural failure.12

Several factors contributed to this scarcity:

• Crop Failure: The harvest of 1788 was poor, with grain yields reduced by nearly one-quarter due to a spring drought followed by a devastating hailstorm in July 1788.123
• Severe Winter: An unusually cold winter compounded the crisis, as frozen rivers prevented the transport of grain and halted the operation of flour mills.1
• Supply Chain Disruptions: As grain and flour reserves dwindled, fears of hoarding and profiteering intensified, further driving up prices.1

In Paris, the cost of a four-pound loaf of bread—the staple of the population's diet—rose from 8 sous to 14 sous by January 1789. This economic hardship fueled popular unrest, leading to riots at bakeries and markets, and created a climate of fear that the government was intentionally starving the people to suppress the Third Estate.12