Whenever I read on the French Revolution, I always wonder whether it was a unified mass movement to topple the old order or if it was different groups fighting within themselves and fighting each other for control over France.
Basically I want to understand if it was a series of spontaneous movements or one mass movement with a united goal (either to overthrow monarchy or to have tax reform or whatever)
Thanks!
Here is a more complex and comprehensive answer than I would be capable of giving.
In short, the revolution was not a unified movement by any means, and the various groups it comprised of spent as much time fighting amongst themselves as they did with foreign foes.
I'm not an historian, but from what i've learnt it's a bit of both, even if "mass movement" might be an overstatement.
To put it into context
Since Louis XIV, power in France was strongly centralized to Paris (and Versailles of course). Controling both meant ruling the country.
France was a still strongly feodal by the end of the 1780's, with the Tiers-Etat (farmers and urban-non noble population) having to pay most taxes, and the nobility and clergy being exempted from them, which raised more and more protests).
In 88 and 89 the country endured a rough famine which led to social unrest. To counter this, Louis XVI summoned the Etats Généraux, which is where the delegates of the tiers-Etats, joined by a few of the ones from the nobility and the church signed the Serment du Jeu de Paume, demanding the abolition of privileges . It's what kickstarted the slow process of the revolution, with the king being moved to the heart of Paris, in the Château des Tuileries.
From there on, the revolution took place in Paris. Most of those elected in the Constituent assembly were upper-class bourgeois, whom for most moved to the capital. Even if they diverged in their view of what the country should be (there were three different "parties", which funnily enough you can sometimes still distinguish in french politics today), they mostly agreed to sharing the power with only other bourgeois (or not sharing it at all and rather beheading their opponents)
In the actual events of the revolution, such as the Storming of the Bastille, it was the parisian lower-class urban population (the notorious sans-culottes) who were the actors. But even then, they were mostly manipulated by the bourgeoisie, who didn't really care for the people's interest. It became visible in the 1791 constitution when only partial suffrage was established (you had to pay a tax to vote and to sign with your name if I recall correctly, which excluded the vast majority of the people from the process). The taking of the Tuileries and the beheading of Louis XVI, for plotting with the Prussians, protecting the clergy and trying to flee, only exacerbated bourgeoisie's power, which eventually led to the downfall of the First republic.
As you can see, the bourgeoisie was the main force in the revolution, and it was shaped mostly to accomodate its interest, depending of course on the many events which took place, even though social unrest was high because of the famine. They did abolish privileges, but by doing so they reinforced their own, and gained a major importance in french politics that is still here today. The people soon realized that, and some regions revolted. Social unrest intensified as the famine kept on going. Both of these reasons explain the horrendous policy of Terreur from 1793.
Of course I could go on for longer, but this is already way too long ! It's a vast and complex subject, that requires a deep comprehension of the context to understand clearly. The links I provided might help, even though it's mostly wikipedia. I tried to be as clear as possible, but it's early here in Paris so yeah.
Edit : I forgot to finish a sentence Edit² : Oh and a link too