The French monarchy’s salt tax before the French Revolution was called the gabelle.
The gabelle was a group of taxes on salt, but the term most commonly refers to the royal salt tax in France. Salt was essential for preserving meat and fish, so the levy affected households across social classes. In many regions, people had to buy a minimum quantity of taxed salt from government-controlled stores.
The tax was not uniform throughout France. Provinces had different rates, exemptions, and enforcement systems, which made the gabelle especially unpopular and encouraged smuggling. Some areas paid no gabelle or had much lighter obligations, while others faced strict rules and high prices.
The gabelle became a symbol of the unequal taxation associated with the ancien régime. Revolutionary reforms abolished it in 1790, although France later reintroduced a salt tax in other forms. It is sometimes confused with the taille, which was primarily a direct land and income tax rather than a salt levy.