The Paris Commune. Tuesday, March 14, 1871. Again today, some background to outline the picture of future events. The siege of Paris by the Prussians, during the war of 1870-1871, gave rise to a great famine. Communications with the outside were completely cut off, and meat quickly ran out. So, day by day, bread and everything else. The inhabitants of Paris therefore had to resort to eating the meat of cats, dogs, rats, and horses. But even when these meats became scarce, with Christmas 1870 approaching, it was the turn of the zoo animals. For example, the two elephants of the Jardin d'Acclimatation, Castor and Pollux, were slaughtered at the end of December to be sold in butcher shops and served in the most important restaurants. Here, for example, is the menu of a Parisian restaurant for December 25, 1870, which offers among others: donkey, elephant, camel, kangaroo, bear, wolf, and antelope, as well as a tempting "Cat flanked by rats"... The people, the poor, and the artisans were not entitled to these "delicacies." Living in the poor areas, they had to make do at best with rats, all the same, sold at 3 francs each.
