The Paris Commune 1871

An authoritative introduction to the biggest, and the last, of the cycle of popular revolutions in western Europe that began in 1789. The Parisians, reeling from French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and the German siege of Paris that ensued, set up their own interim government in opposition to the National Assembly at Versailles. The short-lived Commune and its subsequent repression were important enough in their own right; but they cast an even longer shadow. In his stirring account, Robert Tombs sets these tumultuous events in their political and social context, and considers their long-term significance for both France and Europe.