The gentlemen in Paris were thus playing bridge, sipping coffee, and critiquing their King freely.
Louis XVI never seemed to consider that letting these gentlemen discuss him freely could have unfavorable consequences, nor did he think to regulate the various opinions expressed in Parisian society.
Perhaps he had considered it, but he was powerless because his finances relied heavily on borrowing from Parisian bankers.
And those nobles who lent money to the royal family were precisely the hidden backers of Paris's thriving publishing industry.
People like the Duke of Orleans supported the likes of Mirabeau to write a bunch of scandalous pamphlets about the Queen. Under such conditions, controlling public opinion in Paris was practically impossible.
