In a tale of two cities, what is the condition of the common people in France?

A large cask of wine, tumbling out of a cart, draws dozens of Parisians to stoop over the ground sipping the wine before it disappears into the cracks in the earth. This frantic scene typifies the deep poverty and hunger of the common people of France. Hunger is everywhere- on the baker's shelves, with their scanty stock and in the sausage-shops, where dead dogs passed for meat.