v40_1255 - 5 francs Hercule 1871 Paris F.334/3

THE COMMUNE

(18/03/1871-28/05/1871)

Born of the terrible winter of 1870/1871 and the Prussian siege of the capital, the Commune was the last workers' revolution. The capital had many workers who appeared during the economic development of the Second Empire. During the Prussian siege, the population demanded the election of a Commune from October 1870. Insurrectionary attempts took place at the end of October and then in January 1871 while the opposition grew between the capital and the conservative National Assembly elected in February and which sat in Bordeaux.. On March 1, the Prussians march through Paris. On the 18th, the National Guard revolted and the insurrection spread in Paris, a Communal Council called Commune de Paris was elected while the Thiers government evacuated the capital.. In April, fighting began between the regular troops of Versailles and the 20 to 30. 000 combatants of the Commune. At the beginning of May, Mac-Mahon's regular troops won numerous victories and then entered Paris on May 21. During a week of heavy fighting, the "bloody week", the forces of the Commune are repelled. The repression is ruthless and estimated at around 20. 000 deaths on the side of the Commune to which are added approximately 38. 000 arrests.