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Video length: 3 min.
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France 2
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France Televisions
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The Paris Commune is 150 years old. On March 18, 1871, the people of Paris rose up against the French government.
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At the end of the war of 1870 and the defeat of Sedan, France was bloodless. In Paris, the people are at bay and misery reigns. We eat what we find, sometimes rats and even the exotic animals of the Jardin des Plantes. The government, headed by Adolphe Thiers, is in conflict with the citizens of Paris who fought the Prussians and mounted a national guard.
It all began on March 18 on the hill of Montmartre, where Parisians stored dozens of cannons. The revolt will succeed: while the government takes refuge in Versailles (Yvelines), the Commune is proclaimed on March 27. It adopts the red flag, and legislates on the prohibition of night work, the separation of church and state or even secular schools. “This experience, one thing leading to another, will lead to some of the most beautiful social advances imaginable, which will inspire revolutionaries for decades, and even to the present day.“, comments Franck Ferrand, author of historical books. The statue of Napoleon, on Place Vendôme, was destroyed on May 16.
But the Versaillais, the army led by Adolphe Thiers, are already at the gates of Paris. They enter on May 21, in a capital bristling with barricades. Caught in a destructive spiral, the Communards set fire to emblematic buildings, such as the town hall. The revolt will however be severely repressed. During the bloody week, more than 10,000 people were massacred by Versailles troops. From Louise Michel to Cherry Time, composed by a Communard, the short history of the Commune still permeates the collective memory of the French. The Sacré-Coeur was notably beaten to expiate the crimes of the federates in Montmartre, where it all began.
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