I've searched a bit on this subreddit but there's not a very satisfying answer to be found. I know about the principles behind the demographic transition that comes with industrialization (high birthrates and high deathrates pre-industrialization, high birthrates and low deathrates during industrialization, and low birthrates and low deathrates after industrialization), and apparently France went through this transition much more quickly than other countries. But I want to know the social, political, and economic factors that led to France spending very little time in that middle transition period with high birthrates and low deathrates. As a Frenchman at the time, would I notice a difference in my day-to-day life thanks to different demographic circumstances compared to my British or German brethren?
To piggyback off of this question, was this potentially because France was so large population wise before the 19th and 20th centuries? Had France in a sense, reached a natural population limit due to economic and political factors?
Also, wikipedia says that "the birth rate in France diminished much earlier than in the rest of Europe in part because inheritance laws dictated distribution of estates whereas in the UK wealth could be passed to the eldest son or child." However, that statement is not cited and seems to place too much weight on just one factor. So wikipedia's answer seems very unsatisfactory to me.
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_France#1800_to_20th_century" Heres the section on wikipedia in case someone more qualified wants to edit that section provided we reach a better answer
As a suggestion, check the FAQ or do a search before posting, because while this is a good question, there have been several threads about this, check them out, I think they'll help:
This doesn't completely answer the question, but it in part answers the question. Between 1787-1815, France underwent significant political changes and engaged in near constant, titanic struggles with the rest of Europe.
Before the start of the French Revolution, France experienced one of the last major famines, with the two previous years harvest being especially poor. Famine already would be a significant cause of stalling population growth for several years, as starvation would disproportionately affect the health of children already subject to higher rates of mortality. Then after the famines you have the Revolution where tens of thousands are killed and hundreds of thousand flee France. At least an 1% of the French population leave in the year of the Revolution, forming a large expatriate community in London. The social disorder and political tumult of the Revolution soon becomes a threat to the monarchies of Europe. This subsequently leads to the War of the First Coalition against France, which sees France essentially fighting the whole of Europe, which is subsequently followed by 7 more Coalitions against France, plus numerous Revolutionary campaigns in the Middle East.
Without describing every war and campaign, France went through 2 years of famine, 3 years of Revolution, and then 22 years of continuous war with armies increasing in size and campaigns continuously increasing in scope. In 1812, nearly 300,000 Frenchman, (approx. 1% of the French population, and so a considerably higher percentage of the adult male population) was killed during Napolean's invasion of Russia. In conclusion, a near continuous period of tumult which caused a combination of excess deaths and already overall slow population growth, the demographic potency of the nation was curtailed for several years to come.