Symbolism in the French Revolution somewhat by region and period. The tricolore flag is derived from the cockades used in the 1790s. These were circular rosette-like emblems attached to the hat. Camille Desmoulins asked his followers to wear green cockades on 12 July 1789. The Paris militia, formed on 13 July, adopted a blue and red cockade. Blue and red are the traditional colours of Paris, and they are used on the city's coat of arms. Cockades with various colour schemes were used during the storming of the Bastille on 14 July. The blue and red cockade was presented to King Louis XVI at the
Estates of the realm an invitation to revolution. By June, when continued impasses led to further deterioration in relations, the Estates-General was reconstituted first as the National Assembly (June 17, 1789) seeking a solution for the realm independent of the King's management of the meetings of the Estates General which occasionally continued to meet. These self-organized meetings are today defined as the epoch event beginning the historical epoch (era) of the French Revolution, during which – after several more weeks of civil unrest – the body assumed a new status as a revolutionary legislature, the National Constituent Assembly (July 9, 1789). This unitary body