THE PARIS COMMUNE. - Revolutionary movement (18 March–27 May 1871) led by the “Central Committee of the National Guard.” It is connected with the events of the Franco-Prussian War, which brought about the fall of Napoleon III (4 Sept. 1870) and ended with the humiliating armistice of 28 Jan. 1871. Its ideological roots, however, go deeper into the revolutionary motives of 1848 and into the anti-religious and patriotic Jacobin traditions of 1789–93. Contributing greatly to the creation of a revolutionary psychosis were: 1) violent periodicals such as Le Vengeur by Pyat, La patrie en danger by Blanqui, and Le Père Duchesne by Vermersch, and others of the same kind; 2) the “Central Committee of Vigilance,” which carried on its propaganda through “vigilance committees,” composed mostly of members of the International and established alongside the twenty Parisian town halls.
Within besieged Paris, a vigorous spirit of resistance had developed among all strata of the population; in this resistance, however, social demands and postulates increasingly intertwined with patriotic purposes and military plans for defense. The final clash between Paris and Versailles, where the French government resided, led workers and National Guards in the capital to adopt dangerous extremist aims, which then resulted in fratricidal strife and a heap of moral and material ruin.
The revolutionaries, in a famous proclamation of 18 March 1871, declared: “The proletarians of Paris, amid the defeats and betrayals of the ruling classes, have understood that the hour has struck when they must save the situation by taking into their own hands the direction of public affairs.” Yet the forces at play were diverse and confused; the Commune included men of the most varied character, temperament, and ideology: from representatives of a vaguely liberal, republican, and neo-Enlightenment bourgeoisie, to turbulent and confused radical lawyers, to the most extravagant ideologues, to the bellicose Blanquist group, and to the active nucleus of representatives of the International. On one side stood the federalists, resting on old and new libertarian sentiments, on romantic individualism, instinctively fearful of the words “discipline” and “authority”; on the other stood the Blanquists and allied groups, who dreamed of military and political centralization and sought to turn the free municipality of Paris into the center of a great social revolution. Blanqui himself, though absent from Paris, exercised a great fascination through his figure and his ideology.
The anti-clerical tradition, deeply rooted in revolutionary circles, led to a violent campaign against the clergy, accused of being enemies of the people. “Les prêtres sont les bourreaux du peuple. Il faut les fusiller” (Fabre, p. 51).
While the Communards committed errors and excesses, especially in the executions of hostages, it must be said that the repression by the forces of order was summary and merciless, lacking any understanding of the problems of a fairer social justice, now matured in the consciousness of broad strata of the nation. The defeated extremists fostered the myth of the Commune: the “Wall of the Federates” (where many executions had taken place) became, over time, a pilgrimage site for workers’ and revolutionary organizations.
Marxism in general, and revolutionary Marxism in particular, subsequently “assimilated” the Paris Commune. In reality, the movement drew together memories of the Great Revolution, echoes of Saint-Simonian and Fourierist thought, while remaining Blanquist and Proudhonian. There are clear signs that, had the Commune been able to survive longer, it would have resolved its internal contradictions. The victory of Versailles over Paris was ultimately the victory of the French “provinces” and their cautious, hostile spirit toward doctrinaire extremism.
Karl Marx had, in a way, warned French workers against leaps in the dark as early as Sept. 1870. To him, such an insurrection appeared as madness, and his entire ideological orientation rejected the “nationalist and petty-bourgeois illusion” of solving the spirit of 1792. According to Marx, modern France still lacked a proletariat capable of directing a class-based, anti-bourgeois revolution. The Parisian proletariat itself was largely made up of artisans and largely dominated by the “radical” spirit of bourgeois lawyers. Yet, even while calling the insurrection “a madness,” Marx, in Apr. 1871, devoted considerable attention to it, seeing in it a great step forward on the path of revolution. Lenin summarized Marx’s judgment regarding the Commune in broad terms, declaring that “the memory of the fighters of the Commune is revered not only by French workers but by the proletariat of all countries.”
Brief Chronology
(18 March 1871) The revolutionary uprising, which was to break out simultaneously in other parts of France, begins in Paris with the summary execution at Montmartre of Generals Thomas and Lecomte by National Guards and the populace. (19) The "Central Committee" replaces the government of Thiers, who has withdrawn to Versailles; the National Guard (the so-called *fédérés*) occupies the Hôtel de Ville, the Prefecture, and the Palais de Justice. (20) The "Central Committee" installs the young R. Rigault, an atheist revolutionary, as Prefect of Police. (26) Elections by universal suffrage; 50% turnout; triumph of the "Central Committee" list. The newly elected Paris council decides on 29 March to call itself the *Commune de Paris*. The assembly of the C. became a "secret committee" when its deliberations had to remain confidential.
(Late March – 19 May) Press freedom is progressively restricted; about 28 newspapers and periodicals are suppressed. (2 Apr.) Hostilities begin between the *fédérés* and regular troops. At Neuilly, the *fédérés* suffer defeat. The C. then considers taking hostages for possible reprisals against Versailles. (2 and 3) Decree on the separation of Church and State; nationalization of mortmain property. (4) Arrest of the Archbishop of Paris, Msgr. G. Darboy, decreed by the Executive Commission and the Central Committee. Until 15 Apr., the anti-clerical campaign intensifies: slanderous accusations spread by the press, imprisonment of priests, closure and desecration of churches, suppression and dispersal of religious houses. The campaign takes on a spasmodic character. (5) Publication of the decree on hostages; for every *communard* killed by the Versailles forces, three hostages would be executed. The decree was only practically enforced toward the end of the C. (During Apr.) Attempts are made to reach a peaceful solution to the conflict between the C. and Versailles, but both sides harden their positions. The *communards* insist on being recognized as belligerents and propose to Thiers the exchange of Blanqui for Msgr. Darboy, but in vain. (1 May) Establishment of the "Committee of Public Safety." (4) The old Republican calendar is reintroduced. (8) Violent anti-clerical attacks, especially against the Picpus religious and the priests of the churches of Saint-Laurent and Notre-Dame-des-Victoires. (10) Members of the "Committee of Public Safety" are replaced; the committee arrogates full powers to itself. (21) Regular troops under General MacMahon begin to penetrate Paris. (22) Rigault is tasked with enforcing the hostage decree. (23) The *communard* Bergeret blows up the Tuileries, and arsonists set fire to the principal buildings of Paris. (24) In the evening, the hostages—Msgr. Darboy, Court of Cassation President Bonjean, Fr. Allard, Fr. Daguerry, parish priest of La Madeleine, the Jesuit Fathers Clerc and Ducoudray—are shot at the *Grande-Roquette*. (25) Massacre of the 12 Dominicans of the Collège Albert-le-Grand at Arcueil in the disciplinary prison of the 9th sector, reported in *Italia*, no. 38. (26) Massacre of 50 hostages at the *Grande-Roquette* (36 gendarmes, 3 Jesuits [Fr. Olivetti], 4 Picpus, 2 secular priests, a seminarian, and 4 accomplices of conspiracy and traitors), carried out in rue Haxo by order of Colonel Gois, president of the C.’s court-martial, a Blanquist. An act of indescribable brutality and bloodshed. (27) Regular troops occupy Paris. Military tribunals, for a week, and then courts-martial (until 21 March 1872), condemn to death and to various penalties a large number of *communards*. The leaders of the insurrectionary movement are mostly condemned *in absentia*.