The Age of Enlightenment, was a philosophical movement in the 17th and 18th century.
They highly valued intelligence and culture, over the "darkness" of the Middle Ages. It was a period of advancement in all areas, of curiosity and development through new discoveries, including technological, cultural and ideological.
This new line of thinking influenced French people who changed their view of society and of themselves, as it definitely influenced them into the events of the French Revolution.