The state of France by the meeting of the Estates-General

Politically:

once the decision to call the Estates-General had been taken, Louis and Necker waited - during this waiting period they made some decisions:

• they agreed to allow the Third Estate to have twice as many deputies as either of the other two estates
• They left the decision as to whether the Estates should vote by order or by head to be decided at its first meeting, a crucial mistake. If they voted by order the first two estates could outvote the Third Estate. If they voted by head, as individual deputies, then the Third Estate equalled the numbers of the first two estates
• They made no attempt to influence the elections
• They failed to draw up proposals for the Estates-General to consider when it met

Socially:

Along with absolutism and unfair tax systems, the other major source of resentment in French society was corruption at court and in the church. Then system of venality (selling offices) provided an income for the monarchy and a bloc of supporters, but also led to wasteful corruption and prevented people with talent from advancing. There were complaints about the Church- cures complained they were poor because they didnt receive the entire tithe. Instead, archibishops, bishops and abbots who collected it kept most - these higher clergy already…