In 1788, Louis XVI was facing a difficult dilemma: 

• go against the nobles by reducing their privileges, but losing their support, from the most powerful group in the France and be accused of despotism
• or keep their privileges and accept the demands of the privileged classes = compromising his absolute authority

The King decided to reappoint Necker as minister of finances to sooth the tensions between the different estates,

--> the King announced on August 8, 1788 that he would convoked all the Estates-General in May 1789.

--> this exceptional reunion had the consequence of unifying the public opinion against the King; this being the 1st act of the revolution that would destroy the upper orders’ privileges.

But how will the vote be dispatched among the three estates?

--> each of them have a single vote, the King agreed to double the Third Estate representatives, but with again just a single vote

In January 1789, E.J. Sieyes (priest)  published What is the Third Estate ?:

• What is the Third Estate? Everything.
• What has it been until now in the political order? Nothing.
• What does it ask? To become something.

Nothing was inevitable but the King and his councilors were nearly always over taken by the events.

I/ Modernity and rights (individual and collective) vs. Old Regime (May- October 1789)

1. The Estate General

May 5, 1789: The Estates-General:met in Versailles.

• summoned by the King to find solutions to his government’s financial problems.
• main problem was if they should vote by estate or vote all together.
• objective was to raise new taxes and to bypass regional governments wishing for a decentralization.
• end on June 17, 1789 when the General-Estates accepted a motion by Sieyès who asserted that the third estate is the “National Assembly” and the true representative of national sovereignty inviting the other two Estates to join (against the wishes of the King)