The Founding of the Commune
The early devolpment of the Commune was what determined what course it would take, and the radical elements that made up its governing bodies determined what politics it would use. These radical elements, devolped out of bodies such as the International or the Jacobins found themselves and were able to exert their authority and ideas on Paris.
The
History of the word ÒCommuneÓ
The first reference to a ÒCommune of ParisÓ comes
about five hundred years before it was created, in the mid fourteenth century
during the Hundred Years War. The war was going badly for France, with both the
King and Crown Prince captured and languishing in an English dungeon. Etienne
Marcel, an advisor to the remaining prince, Charles V, was an adamant supporter
of a Commune which would rule the kingdom as a counterpart to the monarchy.
Marcel had amassed enough power that he had two of the KingÕs foremost
supporters murdered during a cabinet meeting. Charles V, seeing his doom coming
upon him, fled the city for Versailles. Marcel, with the wholehearted support
of the peasants of the city, marched on Versailles, where they were slaughtered
by the army. As a result, Marcel, desperate for support, allied himself with
the invading English. Outraged, the people of Paris rose up and assassinated
their own leader, who they viewed as a traitor. [1]
As
Charles V had in 1356, in 1871 President Adolphe Thiers, who had
succeeded General Trochu as president of the French Republic during the
chaos, fled a furious city, outraged over the capitulation to the Prussian army and Otto von BismarckÕs humiliation of the city.
Left behind was the ComitŽ Centrale de la Garde Nationale and the
revolutionaries behind the uprising.
The
National Guard Revolts
The
Parisian National Guard had arranged itself under the ComitŽ Centrale following
attempts by General Trochu and President Thiers to disband the unit. The units
of the National Guard decided to take it upon themselves to ensure their
continued existance. Seveal divisions of the guard marched upon the Parisian
artillary parks and removed about two hundred artillary pieces, then hauled
them up to Montmartre, a stronghold of radical groups and a well fortified and
located position, in case of a response.
The
failure of the French army during the Franco-Prussian war had been
organization, and once again, this was the major problem. The regular army was
ordered to retake the guns, something they managed to do in short order,
without combat. However, they did not have with them the equipment needed to
tow the artillary down from Montmartre due to a logistical mistake. Louise
Michel, one of the radical leaders who had residence inside Montmartre,
awoke the radicals who were unaware of the regular army. Before the cannon
could be towed, the radical elements of the National Guard arrived and
proceeded to argue with the members of the regular army over who should have
possession of the guns. Incredibly enough, this proved more effective than
combat would have been, as many of the soldiers agreed to change sides.[2]
The
Government Evacuates
ThiersÕ
evacuation left the Reds in Paris as the masters of the city. However, the many
divisions between the radical groups caused raging debates inside of the H™tel
de Ville over what should be done. The ComitŽ Centrale of the National Guard
was left surprised by their sudden power. Some of their leaders wanted to march
on Versaille and end the threat posed by ThiersÕ government, while Louise
Michel was a firm advocate of an assassination of Thiers himself. Had the
ComitŽ Centrale decided to march on Versaille, there is a good chance that they
would have easily defeated the small number of government soldiers and ended
any outside threat from the French government. Instead, the inability to reach
a decision stalled the meetings in the H™tel de Ville.
Negotiations
between the government and the radicals using Mayor Clemenceau as a negotiatior broke down shortly after
they began, and Thiers made proclaimations stating that the radicals were
nothing but petty criminals. Inside Paris, these claims encouraged the more
moderate Parisians to found the ÒFriends of the Order,Ó who marched in
non-violent protest against the radical government. They were without weapons,
but regardless, when they encountered an armed contingent of radical National
Guardsmen the situation quickly degenerated into senseless violence. The
massacre came while they were marching along ÒLa Rue de la Paix,Ó or the street
of peace. The battle only resulted in about a dozen protestors dead, but it
infuriated both the Commune government and that of the Republic in Versaille. [3]
The
Commune is Declared
While General Trochu went about creating an army to crush the insurgents, the revolutionaries held general elections. The Reds won them easily, by a margin of four to one, and they gave their new government the official title of the ÒCommune de Paris,Ó which would be headquartered in the H™tel de Ville. The celebrations in Paris were of a large and extremely carefree nature, and lasted for several days.