Paris Commune

The term "Paris Commune" originally referred to the government of Paris during the French Revolution. However, the term more commonly refers to the socialist government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 (more formally from March 26) to May 28, 1871.

Background

The Commune was made possible through a civil uprising of all revolutionist trends within Paris after the Franco-Prussian War ended with French defeat. The war with Prussia, started by Napoleon III ("Louis Bonaparte") in July 1870, turned out disastrously for the French and by September Paris itself was under siege. The gap between rich and poor in the capital had widened in recent years and now food shortages and the continuous Prussian bombardment were adding to an already widespread discontent. Working people were becoming more open to radical ideas. A specific demand was that Paris should be self-governing, with its own elected Commune, something enjoyed by most French towns, but denied Paris by a government wary of the capital's unruly populace. An associated but more vague wish was for a fairer, if not necessarily socialist, way of managing the economy, summed up in the popular cry for "La Sociale!"

Related Topics:
Revolution - Franco-Prussian War - Prussia - Napoleon III - Socialist

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In January, 1871, when the siege had lasted for four months, Louis-Adolphe Thiers, soon to be Chief Executive (later President) of the Third Republic, sought an armistice. The Prussians included the occupation of Paris in the peace terms. Despite the hardships of the siege many Parisians were bitterly resentful and were particularly angry that the Prussians should be allowed a brief ceremonial occupation of their city.

Related Topics:
Louis-Adolphe Thiers - Third Republic

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By that time many tens of thousands of Parisians were armed members of a citizens' militia known as the "National Guard", which had been greatly expanded to help defend the city. Battalions in the poorer districts elected their own officers and possessed many of the cannons which had been founded in Paris and paid for by public subscription. The city and its National Guard had withstood the Prussian troops for six months. The population of Paris was defiant in the face of occupation — they limited the Prussian presence to a small area of the city and policed the boundary.

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Steps were being taken to form a "Central Committee" of the Guard, and Louis-Adolphe Thiers, president of the French government, the new Third Republic, realised that in the present unstable situation this body could come to form an alternative centre of political power. In addition, he was concerned that the workers would arm themselves with the National Guard weapons and provoke the Prussians.

Related Topics:
Louis-Adolphe Thiers - Third Republic

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The events at this juncture are confused, but what is clear is that before the Prussians entered Paris, National Guards, helped by ordinary working people, managed to take the cannons (which they regarded as their own property) away from the Prussians' path and store them in "safe" districts. One of the chief "cannon parks" was on the heights of Montmartre.

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