The primary influence of the Enlightenment on the French Revolution was the promotion of rational thought and individual rights, challenging traditional authority and advocating for change. Enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire, Rousseau, and Montesquieu emphasized ideas of liberty, equality, and fraternity, directly influencing revolutionary leaders and the development of new political ideologies. The calls for social justice, popular sovereignty, and the questioning of divine right monarchies fueled revolutionary sentiments among the French populace. When the French Revolution began in 1789, the Enlightenment ideas provided philosophical justification for overthrowing the existing order, leading to profound changes in governance and society in France and beyond.