1871 Paris Commune elections

The Paris Commune of 1871 was established on March 26, 1871, following elections held by the Central Committee of the National Guard [fr]. This revolutionary government was inspired by the earlier Paris Commune of 1792 and realized the aspirations of the social movement. The Commune saw the formation of an assembly representing all republican factions of the era, though the more moderate members soon left, leaving control to the more radical elements who drew upon Jacobinism, Blanquism, socialism, and anarchism.[1] The elected members served on the Commune Council.

1871 Paris Commune elections

← 1870 March 26, 1871 (1871-03-26) 1871 →
Registered484,569
Turnout48%

Context

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After the events of March 18 and the withdrawal of legal authorities to Versailles, the Central Committee of the National Guard assumed control in the capital.[2] Surprised by their easy victory and reluctant to take on the political responsibilities of the situation, the Central Committee quickly decided to organize new municipal elections, initially scheduled for March 22.

However, the date had to be postponed to March 23 and then to March 26 due to two events:

  • Firstly, efforts at conciliation by district mayors and Parisian elected officials (including Clemenceau, Millière, Tolain, Cournet, Lockroy, and Malon) who were attempting to avoid a confrontation between the National Assembly and the National Guard.
  • Secondly, the demonstrations on March 21 and 22 by the "party of order" and the occupation of certain district town halls by bourgeois battalions of the National Guard.

Elections

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A total of 92 councillor positions were up for election, with each district receiving one councilor per 20,000 inhabitants and an additional councilor for any fraction exceeding 10,000. The distribution was as follows:[3]

The campaign was brief, with three main factions dividing public opinion. The government supporters advocated for abstention, the conciliators backed the moderate candidacies of current mayors or their deputies, and the Commune party included the Central Committee of the National Guard, the Central Republican Committee of the Twenty Arrondissements, and the Internationalists. Reports consistently indicated that the voting process proceeded calmly and without coercion in most areas.

Results

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Paris had 484,569 registered voters at the time. The number of participants was 229,167, resulting in an abstention rate of 52%, which is comparable to the 1870 municipal elections.[4] Participation was significantly higher in the eastern and northern parts of Paris than in the affluent western districts.

The election of six candidates who were poised to be elected but did not reach the 12.5% threshold of registered voters was validated. These candidates were Brunel, Langevin, Rigault, Vaillant, Arnould, and Allix.[5] Six seats remained vacant due to multiple elections benefiting the same candidate, plus the seat allotted to Blanqui, who was still in prison.

The revolutionary majority included at least 60 councilors (15 of whom belonged to the Central Committee of the National Guard). The moderate minority was represented by 16 members of the mayor's party and 4 radicals. There was also a notable presence of around fifteen members of the Internationalists. Clemenceau was defeated in the 18th arrondissement, receiving only 752 votes out of 17,443 voters.

The Commune Council was quickly reduced to 62 members following the collective resignation of the mayor's party, the subsequent resignation of the radicals, and the deaths of Gustave Flourens and Duval, who were executed by the Versaillais after the first battles in April.

On March 28, during a large public demonstration at the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville, the Central Committee of the National Guard handed over the powers it had held for the past ten days to the newly elected officials. However, the National Guard continued to exercise parallel authority, particularly in military operations.

Supplementary elections

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Initially scheduled for April 5, the supplementary elections, intended to fill vacant or abandoned seats, were held on April 16, 1871. An additional seat was allocated to the 20th arrondissement following a revision of its population count. 32 councilors were to be elected, but there were few candidates, and the abstention rate exceeded 80%. Under these circumstances, only 14 seats were filled, bringing the total number of councilors to 79 out of 93 seats.

The results of the supplementary elections on April 16 were published in the Journal officiel on April 20, 1871.

The following month, the Commune fell during the Semaine sanglante.

Elected officials

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Elected member Constituency Political affiliation
Pierre Vésinier 1st arrondissement Internationalist, Jacobinist
Gustave Paul Cluseret Internationalist
Adolphe Adam [fr]
Jean-Jacques Pillot Blanquist, Internationalist
Jules Andrieu [fr] Internationalist
Jules Méline
Auguste Serraillier [fr] 2nd arrondissement Internationalist
Pierre Tirard
Charles Loiseau-Pinson
Eugene Pottier Internationalist, Jacobinist
Jacques Louis Durand Internationalist, Jacobinist
Jules-Paul Johannard Internationalist, Jacobinist
Ernest Brelay
Antoine Demay 3rd arrondissement Internationalist, Jacobinist
Armand Antoine Jules Arnaud Internationalist, Jacobinist
Charles Murat
Clovis Dupont Internationalist, Jacobinist
Jean-Louis Pindy Internationalist
Arthur Arnould 4th arrondissement Internationalist
Charles Amouroux Internationalist
Eugene Gérardin Internationalist
Gustave Lefrançais Internationalist
Dominique Régère 5th arrondissement Jacobinist
Gustave Tridon Blanquist
Charles Ledroit Jacobinist
François Jourde [fr]
Stanislas Xavier Pourille [fr] Jacobinist
Louis-Augustin Rogeard 6th arrondissement
Albert Leroy
Charles Beslay Internationalist
Edmond-Alfred Goupy
Gustave Courbet
Eugène Varlin Internationalist
Arthur Arnould 7th arrondissement Internationalist
Auguste Sicard Jacobinist
Raoul Rigault Blanquist
Raoul Urbain Jacobinist
Ernest Lefèvre
François-Louis Parisel Jacobinist
Paul Antoine Brunel
Édouard Vaillant 8th arrondissement Internationalist
Jean-François Robinet
Jules Allix
Arthur Ranc 9th arrondissement
Auguste Briosne
Emile Ferry
Ernest Desmarest
François-Charles Ostyn Internationalist
Gustave Nast
Ulysse Parent
Felix Pyat 10th arrondissement Jacobinist
Paul Philémon Rastoul Jacobinist
Charles Ferdinand Gambon Jacobinist
Fortunate Henry Internationalist, Jacobinist
Henry Louis Champy Jacobinist
Jules-Nicolas-André Babick Internationalist
Augustin Verdure 11th arrondissement Internationalist
Charles Delescluze Jacobinist
Adolphe Assi
Augustin Avrial Internationalist
Emile Eudes Blanquist
Eugene Protot Blanquist
Henri Mortier Blanquist
Jean-Baptiste-Hubert Geresme
Albert Theisz 12th arrondissement Internationalist
Alphonse Lonclas Jacobinist
Jean Fenouillas Jacobinist
Julien Fruneau
Eugène Varlin Internationalist
Émile-Victor Duval 13th arrondissement Blanquist, Internationalist
Jean-Baptiste Chardon Blanquist
Leo Frankel Internationalist
Leo Melliet
Adolphe Clemence 14th arrondissement Internationalist
Alfred-Édouard Billioray
Baptiste Descamps Jacobinist
Jules Martelet Internationalist, Jacobinist
Jules Valles 15th arrondissement
Camille Langevin Internationalist
Victor Clément Internationalist
Charles Longuet 16th arrondissement Internationalist
Henri Marmottan
Jehan de Bouteiller
Benoit Malon 17th arrondissement Internationalist
Charles Gérardin Jacobinist
Émile Léopold Clément Internationalist
Jean-Martial-Aminthe Dupont Jacobinist
Louis-Denis Chalain Internationalist
Albert Theisz Internationalist
Eugène Varlin Internationalist
Auguste Vermorel 18th arrondissement
Georges Arnold
Jean-Baptiste Clément Internationalist, Jacobinist
Louis-Simon Dereure Internationalist
Paschal Grousset Jacobinist
Théophile Ferré Blanquist
Gustave Paul Cluseret
Emile Oudet 19th arrondissement Jacobinist
Ernest Puget Jacobinist
Frédéric Cournet
Jules Miot Internationalist, Jacobinist
Charles Delescluze Jacobinist
Alexis Louis Trinquet 20th arrondissement Blanquist, Internationalist
Auguste Viard Jacobinist
Gabriel Ranvier Blanquist
Gustave Flourens Jacobinist
Jules-Henri-Marius Bergeret Internationalist, Jacobinist
Louis Auguste Blanqui Blanquist

References

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  1. ^ "Les 72 jours de la Commune de Paris : exercice du pouvoir et héritage politique". France Mémoire (in French). 2021-11-09. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
  2. ^ "Adresse du Comité central de la garde nationale aux gardes nationaux - Archives de Paris". archives.paris.fr. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
  3. ^ "Le Cri du peuple : journal politique quotidien". Gallica. 1871-03-24. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  4. ^ Greenberg, Louis M (196). "The Commune of 1871 as a Decentralist Reaction." The Journal of Modern History 41 (3) : 304-318.
  5. ^ Morin, Georges (1871). Histoire critique de la Commune (in French). p. 59.