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Discontent was widespread, as a result of the widening in the gap between rich and poor, food shortages, military failures, and a recent Prussian bombardment. Workers and the lower middle class supported a democratic republic. ''A specific demand was that Paris should be self-governing with its own elected council, something enjoyed by smaller French towns but denied to Paris by a government wary of the capital's unruly populace.'' Their real hope was for an effective way to manage their economy. A popular cry was for ''la rpublique dmocratique et sociale!'' (''the democratic and social republic!''). By January 1871 thousands of Parisians became member of the citizen's militia known as the ''National Guard,'' to help defend the city. The Commune implimented a few decrees to help society: the separation of church and state, the reduction of rents owed during the siege of Paris, the elimination of bakery night work, ''the granting of pensions to the unmarried companions and children of National Guards killed on active service, the free return, by the city pawnshops, of all workmen's tools and household items valued up to 20 francs, pledged during the siege as they were concerned that skilled workers had been forced to pawn their tools during the war,'' the delay of commercial debt obligations, the ending of interest on debts, and the right of employees to take over a buisness if it was deserted by its owner. The separation of church and state made all church property public and excluded religion from schools. These laws were made during the Third Republic- the Jules Ferry laws 1880-1881 and the 1905 French law. ''The churches were allowed to continue their religious activity only if they kept their doors open to public political meetings during the evenings.'' Streets, cafes, and now churches were the political centers of the Commune. Organized feminist movements began. Other legislation ''dealt with educational reforms which would make further education and technical training freely available to all.''
''By this boiling lava from volcanoes snatched, Which flows and hardens with time's dispatch, Our public places and our pavements Once arid now become resplendent. And he who compares the old and the new May wonder indeed at Paris renew'd; Thus, all is made grand for the honor of France: This is our new era and our Loui has begun it.'' -unknown Parisian
BACKGROUND INFORMATION The rebuilding of Paris, during the Second Empire, brought many new technological advancements that transformed Paris into a city of beauty and grandeur. It was started by Napoleon III in 1848, as a result of the Revolutions, and was finished in 1870. The goal of the buildins programs was to make the city more beutiful and more sanitary for its inhabitants. The widening of the streets gave the added bonus of disabling revolutionaries and attackers from barracading. The Second Empire crumbled to form the Third Empire which was the result of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871).
Paris, France 1870-1914
Click to view a slideshow of the development of Paris.
The Franco-Prussian war (1870-1871) took a heavy toll on the lives of Parisians. The Commune of Paris burned many of Paris' admisitrative centers and written records. 20,000 citizens were killed in the fighting between the Commune and government forces, which is known as bloody week. Paris later recovered from these events to host the Universal Expositions of 1889.
