The Embers of a Long-Smoldering Revolution Are Stoked in France
The 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune of 1871 has struck a chord, reviving calls for better political representation and highlighting economic inequalities.
Silhouettes created by the artist Dugudus commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune in front of the Sacré Coeur Basilica in Paris last month.Credit.Anne-Christine Poujoulat/Agence France-Presse Getty Images
April 28, 2021, 12:40 p.m. ET
PARIS On a recent chilly morning, a hundred people flocked to a tiny square near the Sacré-Coeur Basilica, at the top of the hill in Montmartre. They were not the usual tourists drawn by the breathtaking panoramic views over Paris, but left-wing demonstrators celebrating the 150th anniversary of a revolution that started right where they stood.
Vive la Commune? The working-class insurrection that shook the world
Communards and supporters at a barricade in the rue de Charonne, Paris. Photograph: Photo 12/UIG via Getty Images
Communards and supporters at a barricade in the rue de Charonne, Paris. Photograph: Photo 12/UIG via Getty Images
As Paris prepares to commemorate the 150th anniversary, the communards’ vision of a new form of radical democracy is once again dividing France
Sun 7 Mar 2021 05.45 EST
A couple of years ago, as railway workers demonstrated in Paris against proposed government reforms, a banner in the crowd offered a blast from France’s revolutionary past: “We don’t care about May ’68,” read its slogan. “We want 1871.”