Contemporary France (Volume 1)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III THE COMMUNE The Causes of the Insurrection of the 18th of March?The Revolutionary Parties and the Army of Disorder?The Central Committee and the International?The Prussians in Paris?The 18th of March?Retreat of the Government to Versailles?Vain Efforts at Conciliation?The Paris Elections, March 26?In the Provinces and Algeria?The National Assembly and the Commune?M. Thiers declares for the Republic?The Versailles Army?The Second Siege of Paris?The Affairs of April 3 and 4?The Commune tries to organize itself?Its Programme?The Committee of Public Safety?Forts Issy and Vanves taken?Entrance of the Troops into Paris, May 21?The Battle in the Streets? The Conflagrations?Execution of Hostages?Suppression of the Commune. Pans f)ARIS, after the signature of the after the A armistice, had been, so to say, Armistice abandoned to herself. The rulers, 'the deputies, the influential men, everybody had left her; only M. Jules Favre, M. E. Picard and M. Jules Ferry, Mayor of Paris, had remained, but how much neglected, how unpopular! They leftthe direction of affairs to General Vinoy, appointed commander-in-chief of the army of Paris, and to General d'Aurelle de Paladines, chief commander of the National Guards of the Seine. This last has passed a severe judgment upon the sittings of the Council, which were held every evening during' this period: Often, he says, it was eleven o'clock, and the members of the Council had not yet arrived. A word was given to public business, affairs of State, etc., the rest of the time was buffoonery, jokes made by M. Ernest Picard, which were sometimes answered. l Paris was waiting for orders and news from the provinces: Paris who had been in the habit of starting impulses! 1 Principaux ouvrages consulted: Enquet...