The Paris Commune. Wednesday, April 5, 1871. The great indignation provoked by the murders of Flourens, Duval, and many other national guards that took place in the past two days, the Paris Commune votes on the decree known as “des otages” (the hostages). Essentially, the decree is summarized in article 5, which states that “any execution of a prisoner of war or a supporter of the regular government of the Paris Commune will be immediately followed by the execution of a triple number of hostages held under article four, and who will be chosen by lot.” It was a serious and bad political act because applying it would provide martyrs for the Versailles reaction and will allow, in the future (as we will see later), the possibility of tarnishing the history of the Commune. Even if it is never applied, the political error remains. Even more serious because it leads to the resignation of two members of the Commune: Arthur Ranc and Ernest Lefèvre. Thus, it provoked the withdrawal of support from a portion of the republican and progressive bourgeoisie.
