Day of the Paris Commune: date, history

The Day of the Paris Commune is celebrated in honor of the victory of the first proletarian revolution of 1871, on March 18. The Parisian commune called the revolutionary government, formed during the events of 1871 in the French capital.

Background of the events of 1871

France, 19th century ... The workers, having overthrown the bourgeois monarchy, in February 1848 put forward revolutionary demands. In June of the same year, with the weapon in hand, the Paris proletariat opposed the republic's "privileges and capital" for the "social republic." This was the first attempt on the bourgeois order, the first great civil war between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. A severe defeat in 1848 weakened the working class for a long time. Only in 1871 he ventured again to oppose the authorities.

The Day of the Paris Commune is celebrated (in 1848 the events served its formation) by many now.

Occurrence

After the truce between Prussia and France was established in the Franco-Prussian War, the unrest in Paris began, which developed into a revolution. As a result, self-government was introduced, which continued in 1871 from March 18 to May 28. The Paris Commune was headed by representatives of the parties of anarchists and socialists. It was proclaimed by the leaders of both trends as the first model of the dictatorship of the proletariat.

The natural phenomenon of history was the emergence of the Paris Commune. The reason for this was the deep social contradictions that existed within the society of France, which became very acute after the defeat of the country during the Franco-Prussian war, which lasted from 1870 to 1871. The Thiers government was formed in February (the photo is presented below), a protege of the big bourgeoisie, which accepted the humiliating and difficult conditions of the peace treaty. The revolutionary forces responded with the creation of the Republican Federation of the National Guard. Headed its central committee.

The first days of the revolution

On the night of March 18, the government of Thiers attempted to disarm the proletarian districts of Paris and arrest representatives of the Central Committee of the National Guard. However, the plan failed. In panic, the government fled to Versailles from Paris. The National Guard is located in the town hall, printing and barracks. A red banner rose over the town hall . Thus, the Paris Commune was proclaimed as a result of an armed uprising and the overthrow of the bourgeois government . Elections to the Council of the commune of Paris took place on 26 March. Two days later, his first meeting was held, led by Proudhon Belé. The new municipality on March 29 was renamed officially the Paris Commune.

Day of the Paris Commune

The date of March 18, 1871 is special in the history of France. It is known and remembered all over the world. It was then that the proletarian revolution was accomplished. March 18, the power of the bourgeoisie fell. This was the first day of the Paris Commune. In 1848, the events preceded, as we have already mentioned, this great date. By the decision of the First International the next day, March 18, was the first successful attempt to seize political power by the workers. This is the Day of the Paris Commune. It was celebrated until 1917 and in our country at illegal meetings of revolutionary organizations. For the first time this revolutionary day was widely celebrated after in March 1923 the Central Committee of the Moscow People's Democratic Party declared the Day of the Paris Commune as its holiday.

What contributed to the emergence of the Paris Commune?

On the brink of a national catastrophe was France after the rout at Sedan. Most of the country's territory was occupied by Prussian troops. They also occupied some parts of the capital for a short time. The National Assembly elected in 1871, on February 8, consisted of explicit and hidden monarchists. More armed workers than Bismarck were feared by the big bourgeoisie. France under the terms of the preliminary agreement was obliged to pay a huge contribution to Prussia. Its size was 5 billion francs in gold. Prussia also withdrew Alsace and Lorraine.

National Guard

Workers and advanced intelligentsia rose to defend the capital. In Paris in September 1870, the National Guard was formed - 215 battalions. At the same time, a political organization emerged. The Central Committee of the National Guard became in fact an embryo of the people's power.

A difficult winter in the capital

The poor inhabitants of Paris survived a hungry and cold winter in siege. In addition, the Prussian capital was subjected to shelling. With the products it was bad. According to some estimates, Parisians ate forty thousand horses. They paid a lot of money for rats, cats and dogs. The norm of products per day was 50 grams of horse meat, as well as 300 grams of low-quality bread made from oats and rice. Huge queues were at the bakeries. The crisis is over, there is a situation in which the revolution was inevitable.

Pre-revolutionary situation in Paris. A. Thiers decided then to disperse the national guard by force of arms, to arrest the Central Committee, to sign a final peace with Bismarck, and then restore the monarchy. In Bordeaux, a national assembly was convened, which later moved to Versailles.

The transition of the division of Versaillese to the side of the insurgents

Government forces in 1871, the night of March 18, managed to capture virtually all of the artillery located on the heights of Montmartre. The people of Paris rose in alarm. Soon almost the entire division of the Versailles moved to the side of the insurgents. This was one of the decisive events of the proletarian revolution. Battalions of the National Guard, on the orders of the Central Committee, occupied the buildings of the Ministry, the police, the barracks, and the railway station. Above the town hall, a red banner rose on the evening of March 19. Thus the Paris Commune arose (the date of its foundation was 18.03.1871) - the proletarian state, and also the organ of the workers' dictatorship. It lasted only 72 days. However, the history of Paris is inconceivable without the events that were saturated with this time.

Appeal of the Central Committee of the National Guard to the people

The Central Committee of the National Guard on the same day addressed the appeal to the people of France, in which he expressed the hope that the capital will serve as an example for the formation of a new republic. The state of siege was lifted, which was premature. It was said in an appeal to the guards that the Central Committee has its powers, since it does not want to seize the place of those who were just swept away by the storm of indignation of the people. The leaders of the uprising did not declare themselves even by the provisional government. They did not dare to take all the power.

Elections to the Commune

The Central Committee, instead of organizing a campaign for Versailles, began to prepare elections for the commune. But at the same time, there was no active agitation of the population for candidates from the workers. Thus, the initiative, time was lost. Fatal consequences were fear of accusation of power in usurpation. Many departments of France supported the uprising in the capital, but due to the lack of a leading party, unity of action was not achieved.

On March 26 elections were held to the Council of the Commune, which was the supreme authority. Only 25 places in it went to workers from 86. The rest were occupied by employees and intellectuals. The apparatus of the Paris Commune was adapted as a form of power primarily to realize as fully as possible the revolutionary tasks posed by the course of events.

Not only the decisions were made by members of the Council of the Commune. They participated in their practical implementation. Thus, various institutions were eliminated, as well as the principle of separation of powers. The council of the commune has elected 10 commissions from its membership, responsible for various spheres of society.

Armed forces

The Paris Commune, as in the period of the Jacobin dictatorship, relied on the armed people. In most of the capital's districts, after March 18, the police were replaced by the National Guard, its reserve battalions.

The Decree of March 29, 1871 also abolished recruitment and proclaimed that citizens fit for service are included in the national guard.

The actions of the Versailles government

Hidden in Paris, the enemies of the commune used all means to move to disorganize the life of the capital, to complicate the position of the commune and thereby speed up its death. For example, it was the sabotage of employees of municipal and state institutions, which was organized by the Versailles government. The Commune on March 29 ruled that orders and orders do not have more legal force and that employees who intend to ignore this decision are subject to immediate dismissal.

In the first days after the events of March 18, the bourgeois press began to sharply oppose the established power. She began to defame the leaders of the Paris Commune, to spread malicious inventions against them. The Central Committee, and then the commune carried out a series of measures against these actions. Only about 30 Parisian magazines and newspapers were closed during the existence of the commune.

Decision of 2 April

The history of Paris in 1871 was marked by a series of dramatic events. April 2 decided to involve Thiers, as well as five more members of the Versailles government to justice. They were accused of unleashing a civil war, organizing an attack on the capital. In response to the shooting of prisoners on April 5, the commune issued a decree on hostages. According to him, every person who was convicted of complicity with the government in Versailles was subject to arrest. The decree threatened the execution of three hostages for each executed communard.

Several hundred people were arrested on the basis of this decree. Among them were Bonzhan, a former senator, Darbua, an archbishop, Zhekker, a major banker, and a group of gendarmes, priests and officials. For a while, the Versailles had to suspend the shootings of the prisoners. However, when it was found out that the commune was not in a hurry with the execution of the hostages, the executions of the captive Federats resumed. The leaders of the government clearly lacked understanding of the need for repression against class enemies. Lenin, analyzing the reasons for the failure of the Paris Commune, noted that it did not use forcefully enough to suppress resistance.

Despite the fact that on May 28 the revolution was defeated, and today around the world many people celebrate the Day of the Paris Commune. It is a symbol of the victory of the proletariat in the struggle for power. Every Frenchman knows that March 18 is the Day of the Paris Commune. This date went down in history as the accomplishment of the first proletarian revolution in the world.