Final answer:
Louis XVI was king of France at the start of the Revolution and his immature and indifferent nature, along with his wife's extravagant spending, contributed to the financial crisis that fueled the revolution. France's economic hardships led to demands for a constitution to limit royal power, sparking the beginning of the French Revolution.
Step-by-step explanation:
The king of France at the outset of the French Revolution was Louis XVI. His reign was overwhelmed by economic crises stemming from his grandiose expenses and financial support of the American Revolutionary War, culminating in great national debt. Louis XVI's qualities included being perceived as immature and indifferent, especially with his neglect of state affairs while focusing on personal pleasures. His wife, Marie Antoinette, dubbed as 'Madame Deficit,' contributed to their unpopularity with her own extravagant spending.
Compounded by poor harvests, the French populace faced starvation and resentment towards the monarchy grew. Revolutionary ideas fueled by Enlightenment thinking and the harsh economic conditions under the absolute monarchy pressured the need for reform. Despite the desperate state of France, the king's handling of the situation was widely criticized as inadequate. The mounting debt and public anger sparked the French Revolution, with the initial demands being decentralization of power from the monarchy through a constitution.