 Oh, the French. They've gotten a great many things right over the years, but taxing salt was not one of them. One thing they did get right was the harvesting and production of their most famous salt, fleur de sel, or flower of salt. Called this because of the flower-like patterns the salt can make when it's formed. The harvesting of fleur de sel goes back to the Roman era, as Pliny the Elder mentions it about 77 A.D., but it could go back even further. One of the most sought after types of fleur de sel comes from the town and surrounding coastline of Guerrero. And it's believed they've been producing fleur de sel there since at least the Iron Age. And at one time it was even called White's Gold, and sought after as a supreme luxury item by the rich. The French also have a number of really fun expressions when it comes to salt. Put a little bit of salt in your life. Add a grain of salt. A joke full of salt. I don't know what that means. And possibly my favorite. A table without salt is like a mouth without saliva. Also, if you're French or you know what these French expressions are really used for, let me know that in the comments down below because I'm not entirely sure. Like many other nations, the French were not immune to the powers of salt when it comes to finance. Things for salt in the French really heated up in 1246 when Louis IX established a large French port that encompassed a huge amount of salt evaporation ponds. Louis launched the 7th Crusade against the Middle East. And he managed to capture an Egyptian port. But then he was promptly defeated and captured to boot. Didn't think that one through, did you? Still for capturing this Egyptian salt port and fighting the Crusade, he was canonized and henceforth known as Saint Louis. After he lost what he gained, Louis purchased another saltworks making France one of the largest salt producers in the world. This leads us to France's really messed up salt tax known as the Gabel. And this salt tax ended up being the symbol that led a revolution to topple the entire French government. The Gabel was supposed to be a temporary salt tax, but you know, taxes are kinda flexible that way. And one of the things that made it really bad was it varied wildly from one part of the country to another. Which made people smuggle salt across the borders of different regions. Which made the government make smuggling salt a capital offense. Essentially the Gabel was a poll tax that was supposed to be evenly balanced between the rich and the poor. But as history and even modern times show, this doesn't always work as advertised. And many provisions to the Gabel led to a much heavier share of this tax being taken on by the poor. And among these provisions was the dreaded Sainte d'Ivoire, a vicious duty that required people to buy over 15 pounds of salt at government prices. And if that sounds like a lot, it is. This was way more than the average person required, unless they planned on salting in excess of meats. But no, because the Sainte d'Ivoire also prohibited people from salting their meat. So what the heck were they supposed to do with all this salt? Not like they cared. And to add insult to injury, people found guilty of committing salt fraud were tried salted, meaning they had salt poured over them, and then they were even put on public display for punishment. And even weirder, in the 17th century, suicide was illegal. But if you committed suicide, they didn't care. They would still take the body and salt it. Not as a way to preserve the body, as a punishment. And then they still put that body on display. Huh. Yeah, evolution is pretty slow, isn't it? By the end of the 18th century, a nonstop flow of rebellions had risen up against the Gabel and its enforcers. It even got to the point where 3,000 people were sentenced to prison, and many of those sentenced to death for salt offenses. So it was no wonder that fighting the Gabel became a big symbol of the French Revolution of 1789. And after the revolution overthrew the king, the Gabel was finally removed and all charged under it were set free. Liberty! Freedom! Justice! And then Napoleon brought the Gabel back. Mon Dieu. But luckily it didn't last, partly because, ironically, he didn't provide enough salt to his armies, and had to retreat from Russia. Still, the Gabel went on, even though many of its restrictions were lessened. And it wasn't until 1946 that the Gabel was finally officially abolished. Alright, so here's another really crazy story about salt in France. So in 1893, the salt companies around the old port of Aigube-Mort, that's the port that was created by Saint Louis, well, they couldn't seem to hire enough people during an economic crisis that was going on. So they brought in a bunch of workers from Italy. Well this didn't sit well with the locals at all. And on the morning of August 16th, things escalated quickly after a series of brawls and arguments, eventually leading to the Italians having to hold up in a bakery, while the locals wanted to set it on fire. The French troops were called in to protect the Italians around 4am, but they didn't arrive on time. And in the meantime, the local gendarmes promised to get the Italians out of town. But as they were leading the Italians back to the train station in Aigube-Mort, the crowds overwhelmed the gendarmes and attacked. While most accounts say around 8 to 10 people were killed with as many as 50 being injured, there are some other accounts that say up to 50 were killed with another 400 being injured. And this incident stood as the biggest slaughter of immigrants in French history until the Paris massacre of 1961. And it is still one of the biggest scandals in French history, as absolutely no convictions happened after the riots. For more amazing salt history, you need to watch this video right here next. Until next time, be kind, take care of each other, and enjoy your freedom from salt taxation. If you're in one of those countries that is free from salt tax, which some still aren't, oh my gosh, how is this possible?