The Paris Commune. Wednesday, March 15, 1871. The insurrection is approaching. Today, 1,325 delegates representing the 215 battalions of the National Guard meet in the Vauxhall hall and vote on the statute of the Central Committee of the National Guard and appoint Garibaldi as commander-in-chief, who, however, will refuse due to his age, though saying he feels one of them. The new committee has 33 members and its composition reveals a popular social origin. They are republicans who want to defend the Republic, which they see as threatened by a National Assembly elected on February 8 and dominated by monarchists. They want the end of the standing army, which has shown its unpreparedness in the recent war against the Germans, and its replacement with militias (like the National Guard). Above all, they are supporters of direct democracy and the people's right to oversee the conduct of public affairs.
