Medieval historians had once calculated average consumption: a city of 3,000 people required roughly 10,000 metric tons of grain annually.
In 1792, Raymond Lepon estimated that an adult consumed around three setiers of flour a year, or about 3.8 metric tons, which was broadly unchanged from the average medieval ration.
Those who enjoyed meat and other foods ate less than one pound of bread a day. Assuming France had a population of 29 million before the French Revolution, after excluding infants who ate little bread and those who had other food available, there were around 25 to 26 million bread eaters. Wheat consumption would reach 26 million setiers, while rye would reach 39 million setiers, worth 520 million and 585 million livres respectively, for a total value of 1.105 billion.
Besides food for people, seeds for early spring crops, oats for feeding livestock, and so on would add another 425 million livres. From this, Lan Zhi, a municipal official in Lyon, concluded that establishing the Grain General Directorate would require 1.275 billion livres. Since one livre equaled one modern franc, that meant 1.2 billion francs—and likely no less.
More roads also had to be built. Poor transportation caused grain prices to vary between provinces, even neighboring ones, and the differences could sometimes become absurd. Distance and road conditions had carved France into scattered little fragments, making life difficult for its residents. During the early years of the French Revolution, among the thirty-two provinces, twelve of the most populous often suffered grain shortages, ten maintained a balance between supply and demand, and ten had surpluses. This imbalance could not be resolved through interprovincial transfers, because transportation was too slow and too expensive; distant water could not put out a nearby fire.
War only made matters worse. Military suppliers' forced requisitions and