By Me. Tales Pinto
The Paris Commune was the realization of a form of government controlled by workers and members of popular classes from France and other countries, which took place in the French capital between March 18 and May 28, 1871.
Despite the short period of existence, the Paris Commune was in the collective memory of the labor movement, its experience being evoked in several later revolutionary processes, such as the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Revolution German 1918-1919, the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939, May 1968 in France and the Portuguese Revolution of 1974-1975.
The reason why the Paris Commune remained in this collective memory of the workers' movement was related to the fact that it was the first experience of workers' government and whose forms of organization did not result from elaborations theories, but practices developed in line with what was known and with the objectives that were intended to be achieved.
The Paris Commune was the revolutionary result of the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. The French defeat at the Battle of Sedan in September 1870 led to the overthrow of Emperor Napoleon III and the formation of a republican government that was presided over by Adolphe Thiers in January 1871. An election was called for the National Assembly, whose majority of deputies elected in February of the same year were from the conservative wing of the French political spectrum, mainly linked to rural landowners.
At the same time, the Prussian armies, which were in French territory, laid siege to Paris. The population of the capital had organized several demonstrations against the defeat of the army against the Prussians and also for improvements in the living and working conditions to which they were subjected. The French National Guard was also experiencing a rise in dissatisfaction within its ranks, reaching the point of forming, from local committees of detachment, a federative structure that culminated, after a few assemblies, in the formation of the Central Committee of the National Guard.
Thiers, who had signed an armistice with Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck on February 26, decided to move the seat of government to Versailles, intending to retake the capital that had escaped his control. .
For the resumption, Thiers intended to kidnap the cannons and heavy weapons that were in the possession of the National Guard in the capital. On March 18, army detachments headed for Paris for this purpose, but were defeated by the resistance of the Central Committee of the National Guard, which had the support of army soldiers dissatisfied with Thiers, who sided with the Parisians and with the population of Paris itself. The participation of women who lived in the working-class neighborhoods of the city was highlighted, playing a decisive role in the mobilization of the National Guard itself, since they were one of the main sources that alarmed about the arrival of the army.
Engraving depicting the defense of a barricade in Paris by women participating in the Commune
In addition to the National Guard, the population of Paris was already organizing itself through so-called revolutionary clubs — political associations whose origins date back to the French Revolution of 1789. From these clubs the Republican Central Committee was formed. of the National Defense of the Twenty Districts of Paris, which served as an experience for the formation of the Commune and also for the mobilization of defense of the city against the Prussians.
Another institution that provided support and a source of experience for the Commune was the International Association of Workers (AIT) or I International. Created in 1864, the AIT brought together workers' organizations from several countries and had in France and Paris one of its main strengths. The AIT was also organized in a federative manner, granting the various national sections autonomy in relation to the General Council, which was based in London.
In the days after the National Guard uprising against the cannon hijacking, the Paris Commune was formed under the direction of the Central Committee. Elections were called for March 28 with the aim of choosing the delegates who would form the Commune. 80 delegates were elected, 25 workers and 12 artisans being elected, the other being intellectuals, specialists and some merchants representing the various districts of the capital. Of the political currents in which the elected participated, there were members of the AIT, Blanquists, Jacobins, radical journalists and several other currents.
The innovation of the Paris Commune, and which would serve as an experience for later revolutions, was the determination that delegates and other officials could not receive a salary greater than that of a skilled worker. and that their mandates could be revoked at any time if they showed inability to carry out their tasks. Various commissions were also created (war, finance, education, etc.) composed of delegates with the aim of fulfilling the stipulated tasks. These commissions were further supported by various popular committees formed in the city.
With the advent of the Commune, civil equality between men and women was adopted in Paris (although women were not allowed to vote), suppression of night work, suppression of the standing army for training citizen militias, separation between State and Church, secular, free and polytechnic education; the possibility of electing foreigners, limitations on female and child labor, creation of a pension for widows and children, ending fines on wages, handing over abandoned factories to workers, among others.
Despite these achievements and the difficulties in carrying out a new government experiment, the outbreak of a Civil War still influenced the Communards (as the members of the Commune) inhabitants of the capital against the troops commanded by Thiers, supported by Prussian detachments. From April 2nd, the bombing of Paris began, and the communards suffered serious defeats.
Corps of communards in coffins after the end of the Paris Commune
Over the weeks, the defeats intensified in the face of the military superiority of the regular armies and the problems of organizing the defense foreseen by the war commission. The defeat came in the week of May 22 to 28, 1871, called Bloody Week, in which the popular resistance organized in the various districts of Paris failed to control the French and Prussian soldiers. More than 20,000 communards were killed in battles or executions, thousands were deported and another 15,000 were imprisoned.
The first experience of government by workers in history came to an end, a situation that was also known as the “assault on the skies”, due to the objectives that the communards set out to achieve:to create a new form of organization of society.