On what date did the French Estates-General first convene in 1789?

The French Estates-General first convened on 5 May 1789, commonly written in English as May 5, 1789.

King Louis XVI summoned the assembly to address France’s severe financial crisis. It brought together representatives of the clergy, nobility and commoners—the First, Second and Third Estates—for the first Estates-General meeting since 1614. The opening took place at Versailles, at the Hôtel des Menus Plaisirs.

The assembly soon became paralysed by a dispute over voting. The privileged First and Second Estates generally favoured voting by order, which allowed them to outvote the Third Estate. The commoners demanded voting by head because they represented the overwhelming majority of the population. On 17 June, the Third Estate declared itself the National Assembly.

Several other dates are easy to confuse with the opening: 20 June was the Tennis Court Oath, 14 July marked the storming of the Bastille, and 5 October brought the Women’s March on Versailles. May 5 marks the Estates-General’s first meeting.