Final answer:
Criticism of the French Nobility stemmed from their tax exemptions, and control over significant wealth and land, despite comprising a small fraction of the population, leading to the economic burden falling upon the commoners and contributing to revolutionary sentiment.
Step-by-step explanation:
One reason many people in France criticized the French Nobility, also known as the Second Estate, was due to their exemption from taxes and their control of a disproportionate amount of wealth and land. The Second Estate represented roughly 2% of the population but controlled about 20% of the land and did not pay taxes, which contributed to the economic crisis that France was experiencing. This was seen as especially unjust because the burden of taxation fell primarily on the Third Estate, which made up 97% of the population and included everyone from peasants to prosperous bourgeoisie. In addition, the wealth of the French Nobility was often out of proportion with their income, leading to further public resentment.
The extravagance of the nobility, combined with economic mismanagement, partly due to the cost of France's support for the American Revolutionary War, led to a fiscal crisis. As the country's debts mounted and the common people struggled with increasing taxes and food shortages, the injustice of the societal structure, with the noble class enjoying privileges while contributing little to the nation's revenue, stoked revolutionary ideas and actions. This resentment eventually contributed to the outbreak of the French Revolution and the dramatic restructuring of the French political system.