Representation of the Three Orders of French Society, 1790 (colour litho)

In France under the Old Regime, the Estates General or States-General (états généraux), was a legislative assembly (see The Estates) of the different classes (or estates) of French subjects. It had a separate assembly for each of the three estates, which were called and dismissed by the king. It had no true power in its own right—unlike the English parliament it was not required to approve royal taxation or legislation—instead it functioned as an advisory body to the king, primarily by presenting petitions from the various estates and consulting on fiscal policy. The Estates-General met intermittently until 1614 and only once afterwards, but was not definitively dissolved until after the French Revolution