France 1871

Synopsis

In March 1871 the citizens of the city of Paris rejected the authority of the French national government at Versailles. The immediate origins of this revolt against the central government lay in the Franco-Prussian War and the four-month siege of Paris. Fuelled by intense patriotism and isolation from the rest of France, radical and socialist elements came to the fore among the Parisian lower classes. With the end of the siege and the defeat of France, the Parisian population felt betrayed. In the face of open defiance from the Parisian National Guard, the government withdrew from Paris. In its place, municipal elections created the Paris Commune, which instigated some social reforms. The Commune was eventually defeated, resulting in the massacre of approximately 25,000 people in one of the worst periods of violence in French history. In the immediate aftermath, the labor movement in France was destroyed...