The Paris Commune. Friday, March 24, 1871. While Paris prepares for elections, new Communes are established in Narbonne, Saint-Étienne, Toulouse. In Narbonne (in the south of France, about 100 kilometers from Montpellier and Toulouse, more than 600 from Paris), in the evening at the end of a spontaneous uprising, the Town Hall is occupied and the establishment of the central Commune of the Narbonne district, united with the National Commune of Paris, is announced. The red flag is adopted as a symbol of popular aspirations. After a public debate in the Town Hall square and by acclamation, the members of the new government of the Commune are elected one by one: Émile Digeon, journalist and provisional leader, president Baptiste Limouzy, gardener; Prosper Nègre, librarian; Barthélémy Noël, commander of the national guard; Eugène Gondres, commercial representative; Auguste Bouniol, wine merchant; Arthur Conche, bookseller; Victor Grasset, pastry chef.
