Editing French Directory (section)

=== Finance and economy ===
The new Director overseeing financial affairs, La Réveillière-Lépeaux, gave a succinct description of the financial state of France when the Directory took power: "The national Treasury was completely empty; not a single [[French sol|sou]] remained. The [[assignats]] were almost worthless; the little value which remained drained away each day with accelerated speed. One could not print enough money in one night to meet the most pressing needs of the next day.... The public revenues were nonexistent; citizens had lost the habit of paying taxes. [...] All public credit was dead and all confidence lost. [...] The depreciation of the ''assignats'', the frightening speed of the fall, reduced the salary of all public employees and functionaries to a value which was purely nominal."{{sfn|Tulard|Fayard|Fierro|1998|pp=209–210}}

The drop in value in the money was accompanied by extraordinary inflation. The ''[[Louis d'or]]'' (gold coin), which was worth 2,000[[Livre tournois|₶.]] in paper money at the beginning of the Directory, increased to 3,000₶. and then 5,000₶. The price of a liter of wine increased from 2₶.10[[French sol|s.]] in October 1795 to 10₶. and then 30₶. A measure of flour worth 2₶. in 1790 was worth 225₶. in October 1794.{{sfn|Tulard|Fayard|Fierro|1998|pp=209–210}}

The new government continued to print ''assignats'', which were based on the value of property confiscated from the Church and the aristocracy, but it could not print them fast enough; even when it printed one hundred million in a day, it covered only one-third of the government's needs. To fill the treasury, the Directory resorted in December 1795 to a forced loan of 600 million-₶. from wealthy citizens, who were required to pay between 50₶. and 6,000₶. each.
[[File:France. 5 francs coin, 1795-1796, First Republic.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|Silver 5 [[French franc|francs]], Directory. First year of minting ([[French Republican calendar|L'AN 4]].)]]

To fight inflation, the government began minting more coins of gold and silver, which had real value; the government had little gold but large silver reserves, largely in the form of silverware, candlesticks and other objects confiscated from the churches and the nobility. It minted 72 million [[écus]], and when this silver supply ran low, it obtained much more gold and silver through military campaigns outside of France, particularly from Bonaparte's [[Army of Italy (France)|army in Italy]]. Bonaparte demanded gold or silver from each city he conquered, threatening to destroy the cities if they did not pay.

These measures reduced the rate of inflation. On 19 February 1796, the government held a ceremony in the [[Place Vendôme]] to destroy the printing presses which had been used to produce huge quantities of ''assignats''. This success produced a new problem: the country was still flooded with more than two billion four hundred million (2.400.000.000) ''assignats'', claims on confiscated properties, which now had some value. Those who held ''assignats'' were able to exchange them for state mandates, which they could use to buy châteaux, church buildings and other [[biens nationaux]] (state property) at extremely reduced prices. Speculation became rampant, and property in Paris and other cities could change hands several times a day.

Another major problem faced by the Directory was the enormous public debt, the same problem that had led to the Revolution in the first place. In September–December 1797, the Directory attacked this problem by declaring bankruptcy on two-thirds of the debt, but assured payment on the other third. This resulted in the ruin of those who held large quantities of government bonds, but stabilized the currency. To keep the treasury full, the Directory also imposed new taxes on property owners, based on the number of fireplaces and chimneys, and later on the number of windows, of their residences. It refrained from adding more taxes on wine and salt, which had helped cause the 1789 revolution, but added new taxes on gold and silver objects, playing cards, tobacco, and other luxury products. Through these means, the Directory brought about a relative stability of finances which continued through the Directory and Consulate.{{sfn|Tulard|Fayard|Fierro|1998|pp=209–213}}