<P> The Estates - General had been called to address the country's fiscal and agricultural crisis, but immediately after convening in May 1789, they had become bogged down in issues of representation--particularly, whether they would vote by head (which would increase the power of the Third Estate, as they outnumbered the other two estates hugely) or by order . </P> <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 in the Saint - Louis district 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>

How did the events of the tennis court oath increase the prestige of the third estate (5 points)