Journey Through Time 48. The Paris Commune: Can The City Of Lights Govern Itself? (Ep 3)
Nov 17, 2025
Explore the radical reforms of the Paris Commune, which lasted just 72 days but reshaped French laws. Discover why they tore down Napoleon III's statue and banned morning croissants. Delve into the chaos of the commune's leadership, the push for artistic democracy, and attempts at economic reforms like salary caps and cooperative workshops. Learn about the controversial moment when they took the Archbishop hostage, and the growing tensions with the countryside that ultimately led to their downfall.
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A Short-Lived Radical Experiment
- The Paris Commune was a 72-day experiment where working-class Parisians attempted to run their city democratically.
- It combined artists, workers, soldiers and intellectuals to invent governance under siege.
Courbet And The Vendôme Column
- Gustave Courbet, France's leading realist painter, helped form an artists' federation aligned with the Commune.
- He also proposed and celebrated pulling down the Vendôme Column as a symbol of imperialism.
Foundations Of Modern French Policy
- The Commune enacted reforms that prefigured modern French secular social policy.
- They separated church and state, advanced secular education, and introduced workers' protections.
