May 21, 2004

•  

  
  

  133 YEARS AGO TODAY

  
  

  

  
  

  May 21 1871
  

  Government troops invade the Paris Commune, a brief socialist reformist government in Paris.

  
  

  On March 26, a new municipal council was elected and the Paris Commune was proclaimed. They ended conscription and replaced the standing army with a National Guard of all citizens who could bear arms. The Commune also put a moratorium on unpaid war-time rents and stopped pawnshops from selling goods, as they were concerned that skilled workers had been forced to pawn their tools during the Franco-Prussian war. They separated the church from the state and made all church property state property, excluded religion from schools, postponed debt obligations, and abolished interest on the debts.
  

  At the same time the local assemblies pursued their own goals, usually under the direction of local workers. Due to the variety of tendencies, the high degree of workers' control and the remarkable cooperation amongst different revolutionists; the Paris Commune has been celebrated by socialists continuously until the present day.
  

  
  

  The Commune was assaulted from April 2 by the government forces of the Versailles Army, and the city was constantly bombarded. The last Communards were shot, against what is now known as the Communard's Wall, while thousands of others were marched to Versailles for trials. The government advantage was such that from mid-April on they refused to negotiate.

  
  

  The government troops were culpable in the slaughter of unarmed citizens. Thirty thousand are believed to have died. Of the more than 30,000 more who were arrested, many were shot and 7,000 were exiled. Few Communards escaped.

  
  

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Commune

  
  

   

  • 4:43 pm
  • 1 Comment