Paris 1871: The Birth of the Commune (S1E7)

In the spring of 1871, socialism briefly ruled Paris.After months of siege, starvation, and humiliation, the French capital turned inward—away from Versailles, away from empire, away from the promises of liberal republics—and toward a radical experiment in working-class self-government. In this episode, we trace how the trauma of war and betrayal gave birth to the Paris Commune, the most audacious socialist uprising of the nineteenth century.Through the life and memory of Louise Michel—the “Red Virgin of Montmartre”—we follow Paris from exile and repression back to the cold dawn of March 18, when working-class women confronted government troops sent to seize the people’s cannons…and the rifles refused to fire. What began as an act of defiance became a collapse of state authority.As the government fled to Versailles, Paris improvised a new political order from below. Neighborhood vigilance committees fed the hungry and punished profiteers. The National Guard radicalized into a people’s army. Socialists, anarchists, Jacobins, feminists, and internationalists debated what a “social republic” might look like—not in theory, but in the streets, clubs, and workplaces of a starving city.The Commune would last only weeks. But in that brief opening, it transformed socialism forever. It showed what working people could build when the state fell away—and what forces would ultimately rise to destroy them.This is Season One—The Origins of Socialism: Paris and the Making of Modern RevolutionNext: Paris 1871: The Death of the Commune Written and produced by Matt Payne.Support, Subscribe, Read on Substack: https://ismhistorypodcast.substack.com/Original Musical Compositions by Ian Payne: https://www.jamesianpayne.com/Support the Show: PayPalContact: [email protected] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ismhistorypodcast.substack.com