<P> On 17 June, the Third Estate, led by the comte de Mirabeau, began to call themselves the National Assembly . On the morning of 20 June, the deputies were shocked to discover that the chamber door was locked and guarded by soldiers . Immediately fearing the worst and anxious that a royal attack by King Louis XVI was imminent, the deputies congregated in a nearby indoor jeu de paume court (fr) in the Saint - Louis district (fr) of the city of Versailles, near the Palace of Versailles . </P> <P> There, 576 of the 577 members from the Third Estate took a collective oath "not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established". The only person who did not join was Joseph Martin - Dauch from Castelnaudary, who would only execute decisions made by the king . </P> <P> Before the Revolution, French society--aside from royalty--was divided into three estates . The First Estate comprised the clergy; the Second Estate was the nobility . The entire rest of France--some 98% of the population--was the Third Estate, which ranged from very wealthy city merchants to impoverished rural farmers . The three estates met from time to time in the Estates General, a legislative assembly . </P> <P> Although the Third Estate was the overwhelming majority of the French population, the makeup of the Estates General was such that the Third Estate comprised a bare majority of the delegates . A simple majority was sufficient--as long as the delegates' votes were cast altogether . The First and Second Estates preferred to divide the vote in some way . A proposal might need to receive approval from each Estate, or there might be two "houses" of the Estates General (one for the first two Estates, and one for the Third), and a bill would need to be passed by both houses . Either way, the First and Second Estates could exercise veto power over proposals enjoying widespread support among the Third Estate, such as reforms that threatened the privileges of the nobility and clergy . </P>

Significance of the tennis court oath in french revolution