On March 18, 1871, workers in Paris rose up to stop an attempt by the French army to steal cannons that had been purchased for the city’s defense in the 1870-1871 Franco-Prussian war. The French government of Adolphe Thiers fled the city in panic, and power passed into the hands of the armed working class. Elections were held on March 26 that created the Paris Commune, the first workers state in history.
The Commune was an entirely new form of state power that set out to build a classless society based on equality. But in the infamous Bloody Week of May 21-28, Thiers and the French army stormed Paris with heavy artillery—indiscriminately murdering men, women and children suspected of having fought for, participated in or sympathized with the Commune.
At enormous cost in blood, the Commune lives on as a priceless experience for the international working class of today, whose lives, health, and living standards depend on their struggle for state power in every country.
