140th Anniversary Of The Paris Commune

March 18 was the 140th anniversary of the Paris Commune. The Paris Commune was the first worker's state the world has ever seen. The Paris Commune was formed by anarchists, marxists, and socialists workers after France lost the Franco-Prussian War. The war had caused death, food shortages, and a huge gap between the poor and the rich. During the war thousands of civilians were members of the National Guard, which was a militia to protect Paris during the sieges by the Prussians. Many of the leaders in the National Guard were radical socialists. The Central Committee was formed in the National Guard to defend against the monarchist majority of the French National Assembly. On March 18, 1871 the National Guard started to revolt in Paris, they were joined by regular French army units. In response the French president ordered all military and government to abandon Paris and head to Versailles. The Central Committee was now the only government in Paris. Communal elections were held on March 26 and elected the communal council. Some of the decrees implemented by the commune included separation of church and state, the right for employees to takeover and run an enterprise, pawn shops returning workers pawned tools during the war for free, and a maximum wage of 6,000 francs. On May 21, 1871 the French army invaded the Paris Commune. During the siege of the Paris Commune by the French army tens of thousands of workers and civilians were executed On May 28, 1871 the French army captured Paris, and the Paris Commune was ended.  You might be wondering why dose this matter? The Paris commune matters because it was the first time the working class took control of a government. The Paris Commune would be praised by Marx, Engels, Lenin, Trotsky, and Mao. The Paris Commune helped inspire revolutionary socialists like Lenin and Mao to create the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China. Most will agree that the Paris Commune was the first example of the dictatorship of the proletariat. To this day the Paris Commune is an example of what the working class can accomplish when it unites to create a better world.