Marie Antoinette dans son salon, Jean-Baptiste André Gautier-Dagoty, 1774.
France's financial problems were the result of a combination of factors: expensive wars; a large royal family whose expenditures were paid for by the state; and the unwillingness of the privileged classes to help defray the costs of the government out of their own pockets by relinquishing some of their financial privileges. Yet, the public perception was that Marie Antoinette had ruined the national finances. She was even given the nickname of "Madame Déficit." While sole fault for the financial crisis did not lie with her, Marie Antoinette played a decisive role in the failure of radical reforms.
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