"Communism possesses a language which every people can understand- its elements are hunger, envy, and death."
Heinrich Heine (1797-1856)
An Unruly population
The Paris Commune was a revolution in 1871, led by the Communards, a group of factory workers who were unhappy with the economic situation in Paris. The loss in the Franco-Prussian war cause the economy to deteriorate, which generated discontent among the factory workers to a point where they eventually revolt against the government. The Communards wanted Paris to be self-governing but the current government would not give up power, even after the disastrous defeat in the Franco-Prussian war. The Commune had many supporters, made mostly up of the lower classes. The populous of Paris was unruly and the central government was wary of this. The unruly population showed when Paris was informed of the defeat at Sedan on September 3rd, as crowds of protesters took the streets immediately, trying to remove the emperor, Napoleon III. Leon Gambetta, a prominent French statesman, proclaimed that he and other republicans would go to the Hotel de Ville to form the government of the new Republic: the Government of National Defense. They soon after, kicked out the emperor and took full control of the city. The new leaders then got together a national guard to protect the city; they were not trained or well equipped. Eventually the French Armed Forces fought back slowly taking the city with fierce house fighting involved. In the end the French Armed Forces retook the city and established control again putting most of the Communards in jail.
The two leaders
Thiers served as Prime Minister for several years before becoming president. He was the one that was pushing for peace during the Franco-Prussian war, but he was not listened to. Thiers, after the loss, removed hundreds of cannons from the French National Guard, and when the revolts came, fled the city with his army. He then led the counter-attack against the commune, trying to restore order in Paris. When the war was over, he became president again until he was succeeded by Patrice de MacMahon.
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Blanqui had taken part in several revolts and revolutions before being elected leader of the Paris Commune. He was, however, already arrested before he became the leader of the Commune and had little to do with it because of this. The Communards offered all their prisoners for Blanqui, but the French government refused, thus preventing Blanqui from taking any part in this revolution. He was released in 1879 but died 2 years later due to a stroke.
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