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On May 5 1789, the Estates-General formally opened in Versailles, convened by Louis XVI after more than 170 years without meeting. France was experiencing a severe financial and social crisis.The three estates—clergy, nobility and the Third Estate attended the ceremony where the king appealed their cooperation to save the kingdom.However tensions soon arose due to the unequal voting system. This event a symbol of the collapse of the Ancien Régime marked the beginning of the French Revolution.