The failure to press the need for reform was ultimately down to the controller generals of finance over the subsequent years which led to a lack of reform. Charles de Calonne who was appointed by Louis XVI in 1783 as controller general of finances recommended across the board taxation as the only way to salvage France’s dire financial situation. Calonne was the only hope for France’s financial situation as the revolution was drawing near. Louis XVI was reluctant in introducing taxes to the First Estate yet he realised that something had to be done in relation to France’s debt thus he called the Estates General into session in 1788. This was the first time they had met since 1614 which suggest that the fiscal situation was dire. The Estates General meeting makes the fiscal crises also a political one as most of the attention was focused on various parties defining their position. Although it was clear that the parlements and nobility didn’t want to pay any taxes as they questioned Calonnes policies even after explaining the financial situation of France. After been exempt from tax for many years it was evident that a depletion of their revenue was not going to be supported. Calonne also failed to make the parlements and the nobility see sense and his reforms fell short in the courts. Louis XVI acknowledged that just as Anne Robert Jacques Turgot and Jacques Necker had tried before him, his reforms would fall on deaf ears thus he was dismissed in April 1787. Lynne Hunt argues
