The 150th Anniversary of the Paris Commune
On March 18th, 1871, the people of Paris rejected both the results of the recently lost Franco-Prussian war and the conservative bent of the new government in Versailles. After the citizens and National Guard units of Paris chased off the French army, they declared the founding of the Paris Commune. Seventy days later, the final shots in defense of the Commune were fired and the last communards captured under arms were executed by the army in Père-Lachaise cemetery. Serious questions and outright lies in the form of propaganda have haunted the historical legacy of the Paris Commune for the last 150 years, and the commemoration of the Commune is still a divisive issue in French politics.
The Commune was the last in a series of Parisian uprisings occurring between 1789 and 1871, including 1789, 1830, and 1848. The attempt at revolution in 1871 was like those that had come before as it constituted a rejection of the French government and its policies, though it differentiated itself by being the first dedicated to radical democracy, anarchism, and socialism. The events leading up to the Commune involved a war with Prussia, the fall of the second French Empire, a grueling siege of Paris, and a capitulation by the French government that felt to many, especially the people of Paris, like a betrayal. After a botched attempt by the Versailles government to artillery that the people of Paris had bought and used in the siege, the people of Paris were roused, and the Commune declared.
The priority of the leaders of the Commune was to hold elections. The working-class populace of the city elected a slate of socialist and anarchist inclined leaders. These elected officials passed sweeping social reforms including the encouragement of worker-owned businesses, the secularization of education, and the creation of a social safety net. The Commune also encouraged similar action in every neighborhood of Paris, resulting in numerous support programs opening across the city to aid those in need. The Commune’s focus on the social aspects of the revolution resulted in their neglecting the military aspect. Some gates into the city were left unguarded, and the Versailles army was able to rush in and begin taking the city neighborhood by neighborhood. It took a week to secure control of Paris, in which time incredible damage was done to the city by both artillery and the setting of fires. Over the week some 10,000 communards were either killed in the fighting or executed by the army, and even more were taken into custody to either face execution, banishment, or imprisonment.
The Paris Commune was an example to many movements that later followed in their footsteps including the Mexican Revolution, the Irish Rising of 1916, and the Russian Revolution of 1917. The legacy of the Paris Commune is still fought over, as seen in the disagreement over whether the city government of Paris should commemorate the anniversary of the fall of the commune, coming up on the 28th. Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo and her government are planning on holding a commemoration of the political and social aims of the Commune, but this planned celebration is being criticized by more conservative politicians. Despite these detractors, the events will still occur and be centered on Père-Lachaise cemetery.
Joe Doner - Staff Writer