Marseille Commune

The Marseille Commune was an insurrectionary communalist movement declared in solidarity with the Paris Commune uprising of March 18, 1871. It aimed to support the nascent republic against the maneuvers of the "Versaillais" and to enable the city of Marseille to govern its own interests. The movement united republicans, moderates, Blanquists, socialists, and members of the First International of various persuasions. Officially led by a departmental commission that replaced the prefect, the revolutionary commune appointed lawyer-poet Gaston Crémieux as its leader. However, it quickly faced internal divisions. Unable to fulfill its legal responsibilities, it was overtaken by incompetent and violent Parisian delegates. To prevent it from organizing elections and gaining democratic legitimacy, the Versaillais general Henri Espivent de La Villesboisnet declared it illegal and deployed troops against it. The commune was brutally suppressed between the night of April 4 and April 5, 1871, extinguishing the Paris Commune's last hope of gaining provincial support. While its roots trace back to the first insurrection of November 1, 1870, the Marseille Commune lasted only fourteen days, from March 22 to April 5, 1871.