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"'It is legal because I wish it' [November 1787].
This statement by Louis XVI seemed almost anachronistic by late 1787 when he uttered it. By that time the opposition from the Parlement de Paris to Brienne's attempt to re-finance the government was so strong that the calling of the Estates General appeared to be a foregone conclusion. The session depicted in the print proved a turning point for the Monarch whose intemperate outburst - provoked by the Duc d'Orleans - indicated the weakness of his position: henceforth the Parlement's demands widened, to encompass individual liberty, and freedom for the provinces." Source of image and quoted explanation. De Brienne's tax reforms were presented to the Paris parlement 2 July 1787.

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