The French King, turning again to the Parlement, finds that they are inclined to continue the issues that had been raised in the Assembly of Notables.

Their proper legal function, besides giving advice to the King, is only to register, or record, his edicts as law, a matter of simple obedience, which the King's father and grandfather had been able to command, sometimes by sternness, threats, and losses of temper.

Unless registered, the edicts are not lawful.

On July 6, 1787, Loménie forwards the Subvention Territoriale and another tax, the Edit du Timbre, or "Stamp Act," based on the American model, for registration.

Parlement refuses an illegal act, demanding accounting statements, or "States," as a prior condition.

It is the King's turn to refuse.