The Paris Commune. Sunday, March 26, 1871.
This small working-class town in Burgundy has a history of workers' and union struggles that ended in violent repression. Creusot is an important metallurgical center, with mines, foundries, and cannon factories. In 1870, the town had about 20,000 inhabitants, 10,000 of whom were workers. The workers' movement of the time included among its ranks important militant figures such as Eugène Varlin, Benoît Malon, Adolphe Assi, and Jean-Baptiste Dumay. In January 1870, there had been a 10-day strike and another 23-day strike in March. After the intervention of the army with 4,000 soldiers and the killing of 6 workers, the struggles stopped. With the fall of the Second Empire due to the Franco-Prussian war, and the consequent flight to England of the powerful industrialist and president of the legislative body, Jean-Baptiste Dumay was elected mayor of Creusot. On this day, March 26, 1871, he and the city's National Guard proclaimed the Commune de Creusot. It is interesting for us Italians to know that the National Guard of Creusot was armed with 4,000 rifles and the necessary ammunition that Jean-Baptiste Dumay had received from Giuseppe Garibaldi before he left Dijon. Garibaldi, despite the ailments of age and severe arthritis, had gone to France to fight against the Prussians alongside the republic, commanding an army stationed in Dijon and even achieving some of the few French victories over the Prussians. After the Franco-Prussian armistice and the return to power of the elected monarchists, the clash between the hero of the two worlds and the new power immediately became apparent. Garibaldi found support and solidarity from the French National Guard. Garibaldi would leave France stating, “I did not come to join in monarchic activities, but to defend the Republic. Long live republican France forever.”
