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Louis XVI summons the Estates General
Summoning of the Estates General, 1789 4-5 May 1789. The political and financial situation in France had grown rather bleak, forcing Louis XVI to summon the Estates General. ... The opening of the Estates General, on 5 May 1789 in Versailles, also marked the start of the French Revolution. -
The last grand ceremony
On 4 May 1789 the last grand ceremony of the Ancien Régime was held in Versailles: the procession of the Estates General. From all over France, 1,200 deputies had arrived for the event. -
Estates General convenes
Estates-General of 1789. Louis XVI convened the Estates-General in 1788, setting the date of its opening for May 1, 1789. ... Members of the nobility were not required to stand for election to the Second Estate and many were elected to the Third Estate. -
The Tennis Court Oath
Finding themselves locked out of their usual meeting hall at Versailles on June 20 and thinking that the king was forcing them to disband, they moved to a nearby indoor tennis court (salle du jeu de paume). There they took an oath never to separate until a written constitution had been established for France -
The National Assembly
June 20, 1789 National Assembly members take Tennis Court Oath, pledging to create new constitution. -
Louis dismisses Necker, a popular minister
As unrest grew in France, Louis XVI took the decision to sack his popular finance minister. Three days later, crowds stormed the Bastille, and the French Revolution had begun. -
The Fall of the Bastille
Mob of Parisian citizens storm Bastille prison and confiscate weapons.