Home
Membership
The Paris Commune: everything you wanted to know

The Paris Commune: everything you wanted to know

David A Shafer discusses the extraordinary eight weeks in 1871 when Paris embarked on a radical – and ultimately doomed – experiment in municipal self-governance

Danny Bird

Published: August 17, 2025 at 9:00 AM

Save

In the spring of 1871, the citizens of Europe’s second largest city rose up and proclaimed the Paris Commune. For eight extraordinary weeks, the French capital defied the national government that had been forced to decamp to Versailles – and adopted a series of progressive policies ranging from the abolition of nightwork in bakeries to the toppling of contested monuments. But what exactly was the Commune? How did this revolutionary government function? And why was it crushed with such vigour? Speaking to Danny Bird, historian David A Shafer answers listener questions on this extraordinary moment in French history.

Authors

Danny BirdContent producer

Danny Bird is a content producer at HistoryExtra