Paris Commune

Setting the scene

The Paris Commune was a revolutionary government that ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871, following France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. After Napoleon III's capture at Sedan in September 1870, a Government of National Defense continued the war, but Paris was besieged by Prussians. An armistice in January 1871 led to elections for a National Assembly, which was dominated by monarchists and based in Versailles. Parisians, radicalized by the siege and fearing the conservative assembly would restore the monarchy, refused to accept its authority.

What happened

On March 18, 1871, the government attempted to seize cannons from Montmartre, but National Guard troops mutinied and killed two generals. The government fled to Versailles, and Parisians elected a Commune council on March 26. The Commune implemented radical policies: separation of church and state, abolition of night work for bakers, worker control of abandoned workshops, and free secular education. It was a diverse coalition of Jacobins, socialists, anarchists, and republicans, without unified leadership.

Why it still matters

The Versailles government, led by Adolphe Thiers, besieged Paris and attacked in May. During 'Bloody Week' (May 21-28), government troops crushed the Commune, killing approximately 10,000-15,000 Communards in street fighting and executing thousands more. The Commune's leaders were killed or exiled. Though it lasted only 72 days, the Commune became a legendary event for the left—Marx called it the first dictatorship of the proletariat, and it inspired later revolutionaries including Lenin. It also terrified conservatives, demonstrating the potential for working-class revolution in an industrial city.

Background

Army suppression was brutal.