They favored the king and enjoyed the fulfilled lifestyle of wealth, just like the King and Queen who didn't try to hide their riches as they lived in the palace of Versailles with servants and owned 1500 horses; Despite the infamous crippling economy of France, this angered the starving third estate which was prevalent in the meeting of the estates general. The meeting of the Estates-General was a significant turning point in the downfall of the absolute monarchy, the meeting prior to this was in 1614. Therefore it was evident that France was in a disastrous state. The third Estate demanded the doubling of their representatives as the first and second Estate would always support one another and outvote the third estate. Louis XVI's minister, Necker encouraged Louis to meet the demands of the third Estate, although he agreed to this he didn't make any pronouncement on the voting procedure. As a result of this the Tennis court oath was put into practice. The National Assembly, also known as the Third Estate, was an ancient but little used gathering of nobles, clergy and common people. They were excluded from their regular meeting place by King Louis XVI and met instead at a nearby indoor tennis court. Here they pledged themselves to create a written constitution for France. Mirabeau, the leader of the Assembly, turned to the King's messenger and cried 'Go tell your master that we are here by the will of the people, and that we shall be removed only at the point of a bayonet.' As a result Revolutionary governments were set up, first in Paris and then in the provinces. On 4 August a decree was passed to abolish the whole feudal system.
Louis XVI had the power to adapt the demanding social hierarchy, it was unequal and relied on the Third Estate which built up to 90% of the population for the day to day running's of France. In doing this he would have calmed the tension of the third estate and the extortionate burden of taxes they faced.
