8.6- The Commune

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: This episode traces the Paris Commune’s birth after March 18, 1871: a surprise uprising, the National Guard’s takeover of Paris, elections that empowered radical republicans, socialists, anarchists, and workers, and the Commune’s early reforms. It also shows the Commune’s strategic weakness—especially its refusal to seize Versailles or the Bank of France—while Versailles rapidly prepared a brutal counteroffensive.

Main Topics: The surprise insurrection of March 18 (Priority: 5/5): Thiers’s failed attempt to seize the National Guard cannons sparked spontaneous mass mobilization, collapsing state authority in Paris and creating a revolutionary vacuum. Central Committee vs. march on Versailles (Priority: 5/5): The National Guard’s Central Committee debated whether to immediately attack Versailles or hold elections; they chose elections, potentially missing their best chance to decapitate Thiers’s government. Competing claims to legitimacy in Paris (Priority: 4/5): The Central Committee, arrondissement mayors, and anti-insurrection civic groups all claimed to represent Paris, but Versailles rejected compromise and treated Parisian autonomy as unacceptable. Election and social composition of the Commune (Priority: 5/5): The Commune’s elections produced a far more working-class and radical council than prior revolutionary bodies, with a mix of Blanquists, Neo-Jacobins, anarchists, journalists, clerks, and workers. What the Commune was meant to be (Priority: 5/5): Council members disagreed over whether the Commune should be a decentralized anti-state experiment or a revolutionary dictatorship and national-level insurgent government. Early reforms and symbolic politics (Priority: 4/5): The Commune moved quickly on debt relief, wages, workers’ rights, church-state separation, and the red flag, while notably refusing to abolish the Bank of France or launch full-scale terror. Military weakness and the road to civil war (Priority: 5/5): Despite some fortifications and artillery, the Commune lacked unified command, adequate logistics, and realistic expectations; Versailles meanwhile mobilized troops and began summary executions, setting the stage for siege and massacre.

Key Arguments: Spontaneous mass action, not revolutionary vanguard theory, actually triggered the revolution on March 18, undermining Blanquist assumptions. Choosing elections over an immediate march on Versailles likely squandered the Commune’s best chance to defeat Thiers while his forces were weakest. Versailles was far more uncompromising than Paris’s moderates; it viewed the Commune as a social-order threat that had to be crushed, not negotiated with. The Commune was ideologically fractured: Proudhonists wanted decentralized self-government, while Blanquists and Neo-Jacobins wanted a revolutionary dictatorship and national revolution. The Commune’s reforms were significant but incomplete; avoiding decisive action against the Bank of France and preparing inadequately for war were major strategic failures. Versailles escalated the conflict by gathering troops and using summary executions, making civil war and atrocities increasingly inevitable. The Commune’s democratic, decentralized military structure made unified defense difficult and contributed to its inability to respond effectively to Versailles. Despite its limits, the Commune introduced a distinctly working-class revolutionary government unlike earlier revolutionary assemblies dominated by lawyers and elites.

Data Points: Date of uprising: March 18, 1871 - Thiers’s cannon seizure attempt and the beginning of the Commune uprising Central Committee membership: 38 members - The National Guard’s Central Committee became the de facto provisional government National Guard presence at Hôtel de Ville: 20,000 guardsmen - By the end of March 18, the National Guard occupied the Hôtel de Ville Government troops in Versailles after retreat: about 20,000 - Versailles was temporarily weak after the failed cannon operation Paris arrondissement mayors: 20 mayors - These mayors challenged the Central Committee’s authority Demonstration fatalities at Place Vendôme: 12 killed, dozens wounded - The Friends of Peace demonstration ended in gunfire Election date initially scheduled: March 23, 1871 - Communal elections were delayed after the Place Vendôme violence Eligible voters: 485,000 - Paris electorate after population loss from siege and instability Voters who participated: 230,000 - Turnout in the March 26 Commune election Seats up for grabs: 92 seats - The communal council election Working-class elected members: 33 - The council included a notable number of workers Other council composition: 5 small business owners, 19 clerks/secretaries/white-collar functionaries, 12 journalists - Social makeup of the Commune council Commune council size serving: about 60-70 members - Many elected Republicans refused or resigned National Guard nominal strength after attrition: 200,000 - Guard membership fell sharply after class-based departure and disengagement Truly committed National Guardsmen: about 50,000 - Only a fraction were fully reliable and armed Bank reserves left in Paris: 90 million francs in gold coins and 160 million in banknotes - The Bank of France remained a major unresolved issue for the Commune Bank loan negotiated by Commune: 400,000 francs per day - Financial commissioner François Jourde negotiated rather than seizing reserves Priests, nuns, and high church officials arrested: 200 - Held as hostages during the Commune’s anti-church campaign Churches/nunneries closed: over 25 - Properties searched and shut down during secularization measures Fortress left unoccupied: Mont Valérien for 3 days - A major defensive failure after Versailles withdrew from the fort Estimated troops needed by Thiers: 150,000 men - Thiers escalated preparations to crush Paris Date of first Commune session: March 28, 1871 - Inauguration at the Hôtel de Ville Date of decree separating Church and State: April 2, 1871 - The Commune formally attacked the Church’s political role Date of failed offensive/march on Versailles: April 3, 1871 - A large National Guard sortie ended in retreat

Pivotal Quotes: "What the hell is the Paris Commune?" — Host: Introduces the central ideological question of the Commune’s purpose "We need to immediately secure its legitimacy by having the people elect a council to represent their interests" — Central Committee moderates (paraphrased by host): Captures the argument for elections instead of an immediate military advance on Versailles "I may be a liberal, a lawyer, and a republican, but watching the reprisal doled out to Paris was like watching the sword of the archangel." — Jules Ferry: Expresses Versailles-aligned elite hostility to the Commune’s existence

Implications: The episode shows how revolutionary success can be undone by internal division, weak military planning, and opponents willing to escalate relentlessly. The Commune’s reforms mattered, but its strategic hesitations helped make its destruction likely.