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How was Maximilien Robespierre elected to the Estates-General in 1789?

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Eighteenth-century painted portrait of Maximilien de Robespierre wearing a brown striped coat, high collar, and white cravat, set against a plain background. — Maximilien Robespierre One of the leading figures of the French Revolution, Maximilien Robespierre.

Maximilien Robespierre was elected to the Estates-General in 1789 as a representative of the Third Estate from the province of Artois.12

By 1788, Robespierre had gained a reputation for altruism and for defending the poor as a lawyer in Arras, where he frequently challenged royal absolutism. When the summoning of the Estates-General was announced, he published an appeal titled À la nation artésienne sur la nécessité de réformer les Etats d’Artois (“To the People of Artois on the Necessity of Reforming the Estates of Artois”), which advocated for political reform.2

In March 1789, the citizens of Arras initially chose him as one of their representatives. Subsequently, the Third Estate of the bailiwick elected him as the fifth of eight deputies from Artois, marking the beginning of his political career at age 30.2