The sans-culottes (, which means "without breeches") were the lower classes in late 18th century France. Lots of sans-culottes became radical supporters and fighters for the French Revolution. This was because of their poor quality of life under the "Ancien Régime". The word sans-culotte, which is the opposite of aristocrat, was said for the first time on 28 February 1791 by officer Jean-Bernard Gauthier de Murnan in a bad way. He was talking about a "sans-culottes army" - an army of peasants. The word became popular during the demonstrations of June 1792.