ABSTRACT
To annoy the ministers a number of commoners, notably lawyers, had favoured the revolt of the nobility. Many others, such as the Rolands, expecting nothing, remained neutral. The summer of 1788 brought no evidence that bourgeois would take part in events. But news that an Estates-General was to be convened sent a tremor of excitement through the bourgeoisie: the king was authorizing them to plead their case. In this early stage accord with the aristocracy was not out of the question: the example set by the Dauphiné, where nobles granted commoners vote by head and equality of taxation, was welcomed enthusiastically. The atmosphere changed abruptly when the Parlement of Paris showed its true colours on September 23. Suddenly the popularity of the magistrates vanished. A clamour arose throughout the kingdom. ‘Public debate has assumed a different character,’ Mallet du Pan stated in January of 1789. ‘King, despotism, and constitution have become only secondary questions. Now it is war between the Third Estate and the other two orders.’
