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The Paris Commune (French: Commune de Paris, pronounced [kɔ.myn də pa.ʁi]) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended Paris, and working-class radicalism grew among its soldiers.
- 18 March – 28 May 1871, (2 months, 1 week and 3 days)
- Revolt suppressed, Disbanding of the second National Guard by the French government
- Paris, France
Commune of Paris, (1871), insurrection of Paris against the French government from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It occurred in the wake of France’s defeat in the Franco-German War and the collapse of Napoleon III’s Second Empire (1852–70).
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Roots of The Paris Commune
- The Third Republic
- The Cannons of Montmartre
- Paris Commune Established
- Women's Rights
- Vendôme Column
- Paris Under Attack
- Bloody Week
- Paris Burns
- Pere Lachaise Cemetery
During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, Prince Otto von Bismarck sought to unify all German states under the control of his native state, Prussia. But the Second Empire of France, ruled by Napoleon III (the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte), declared war against Prussia to resist their ambitions. In the months of war that followed, France’s army was co...
Following the collapse of France’s Second Empire, the remaining government officials established the Third Republic, formed a new legislative National Assembly and elected Adolphe Thiers, age 74, as leader. Because the government was more conservative than the citizens of Paris would tolerate, and because Paris was still dealing with the effects of...
By the end of the Franco-Prussian War, Paris had hundreds of bronze cannons scattered across the city. The National Guard, now firmly opposed to the Third Republic and their military leaders ensconced at Versailles, moved many of the cannons to the working-class neighborhoods of Montmartre, Belleville and Buttes-Chaumont and out of the reach of gov...
Now that the government of the Third Republic had departed the city, the National Guard and sympathetic citizens of Paris wasted no time in setting up a local government and preparing for an expected battle against troops from Versailles. Within days, the city was militarized, with crude barricades made of cobblestones and other debris blocking roa...
Women played an active part in the Paris Commune, including fighting against the Versaillais and caring for wounded soldiers. Some women reportedly acted as pétroleuses, arsonists paid for throwing flammable petrol into opposition houses and other buildings. There were also a number of feminist initiatives proposed to the Paris Commune, including e...
Many participants in the Paris Commune had a decidedly destructive nature, and anything that smacked of monarchy rule was considered a target. Foremost among these was the Vendôme Column, a towering monument erected to honor Napoleon Bonaparte. Called a “a monument of barbarism,” the movement to destroy the tower was started by artist Gustave Courb...
In April 1871, fearing an impending attack, the leaders of the Paris Commune decided to mount an offensive against the Versaillais. After a couple of failed efforts, their attacks on the palace at Versailles were called off. Thus emboldened, the Versaillaistroops, led by Marshal Patrice Maurice de MacMahon, mounted an attack on the city of Paris, f...
By May 23, the third day of what became known as Semaine Sanglante or “Bloody Week,” Third Republic Versaillaistroops had overrun most of Paris, and the slaughter of Communards began in earnest. As mayhem and terror swept through Paris, shooting and killing of Communards, government soldiers, Catholic clergy and ordinary citizens occurred day and n...
Indeed, burning buildings were a common sight during Bloody Week, when the skies above Paris were black with smoke. One diarist wroteon May 24: “The night has been dreadful, with reciprocal fury. Shells, shrapnel, cannonade, musketry, all kept on bursting in a frightful concert. The sky itself is red, the flashes of the massacre have set it on fire...
In one of the most dramatic final episodes of Bloody Week, the Pere Lachaise Cemetery was occupied by hundreds of Communards. But after Versaillaistroops used a cannon to blast open the cemetery gates on May 27, they stormed the cemetery and fought a pitched battle against Communards among the gravestones. As evening fell, the revolutionaries final...
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17 March 2021. By Hugh Schofield,BBC News, Paris. Getty Images. The Paris Commune lasted until late May 1871, culminating in a so-called "bloody week" Exactly 150 years after the Paris...
Jul 9, 2019 · Updated on July 09, 2019. The Paris Commune was a popular-led democratic government that ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. Inspired by the Marxist politics and revolutionary goals of the International Workingmen's Organization (also known as the First International), workers of Paris united to overthrow the existing French regime which ...
Jun 26, 2019 · The Paris Commune was a radical, popular led government that ruled Paris from 18 March to 28 May, 1871. It occurred in the wake of France’s defeat in the Franco-German war and the collapse of...
The formative years (1871–1905) The repression of the Commune of Paris left its mark on the emerging republic. The various socialist factions and the newly organized labour movement were left leaderless; the resultant vacuum eventually opened the way to Marxist activists in the 1880s.
