<P> The Ancien Régime ( / ˌɒ̃sjæ̃ reɪˈʒiːm / ; French : ( ɑ̃. sjɛ̃ ʁeʒim ) ; French for `` old regime '' ) was the political and social system of the Kingdom of France from the Late Middle Ages ( circa 15th century ) until 1789 , when hereditary monarchy and the feudal system of French nobility were abolished by the French Revolution . The Ancien Régime was ruled by the late Valois and Bourbon dynasties . The term is occasionally used to refer to the similar feudal systems of the time elsewhere in Europe . The administrative and social structures of the Ancien Régime were the result of years of state - building , legislative acts ( like the Ordinance of Villers - Cotterêts ) , internal conflicts and civil wars , but they remained and the Valois Dynasty 's attempts at re-establishing control over the scattered political centres of the country were hindered by the Huguenot Wars ( or Wars of Religion ) . Much of the reigns of Henry IV , Louis XIII and the early years of Louis XIV were focused on administrative centralisation . Despite , however , the notion of `` absolute monarchy '' ( typified by the king 's right to issue lettres de cachet ) and the efforts by the kings to create a centralized state , Ancien Régime France remained a country of systemic irregularities : administrative ( including taxation ) , legal , judicial , and ecclesiastic divisions and prerogatives frequently overlapped , while the French nobility struggled to maintain their own rights in the matters of local government and justice , and powerful internal conflicts ( like the Fronde ) protested against this centralization . </P>
the political and social system that existed in france before the french revolution was called the
Ancien Régime