Assembly of Notables

Also called: Aristocratic revolt

The debt-ridden monarchy summoned the Notables in a bid to tax the nobility and clergy, but the privileged orders refused and reform stalled.

The Seven Years’ War and support for the American War of Independence had left the French monarchy deeply in debt. In 1786 the Controller-General Calonne drew up a plan for a land tax on all estates regardless of order and, to bypass the parlements, summoned 144 nobles, clergy and senior officials chosen by the king. The Assembly of Notables opened at the Hôtel des Menus-Plaisirs in Versailles on 22 February 1787.

The Notables refused to give up their privileges and argued that only the Estates-General could approve such reform. Louis XVI dismissed Calonne in April and appointed Brienne, but the Assembly was dissolved on 25 May with nothing achieved. After a struggle with the parlements, the crown promised in August 1788 to convene the Estates-General the following May. This stand of the privileged orders against the crown is sometimes called the “aristocratic revolt”.