An assembly of prelates, lords, the bourgeois of Paris and doctors of the University, known as the Estates-General of 1317, gathered in February. Philip V asked them to write an argument justifying his right to the throne of France. These "general statements" agreed in declaring that "Women do not succeed in the kingdom of France", formalizing Philip's usurpation and the impossibility for a woman to ascend the throne of France, a principle in force until the end of the monarchy. The Salic law, at the time, was not yet invoked: the arguments put forward in favor of Philip V relied only on the degree of proximity of Philip V with St. Louis. Philip had the support of the nobility and had the resources for his ambitions.