The Paris Commune of 1871 was worse than the current riots in Paris and across cities in France.
The Paris Commune of 1871 ended in one of the most violent and destructive episodes in modern European history, culminating in the infamous "Bloody Week" (Semaine sanglante) from May 21–28, 1871. The Communists had taken over Paris and tried to set up an alternative Communist municipal government. And it had nothing to do with Muslims or African migrants.
The catastrophic toll of the conflict includes the following metrics:
Human Casualties
• Deaths: Most mainstream historians estimate that between 15,000 and 20,000 Parisians (Communards and civilians) were killed. The vast majority were slaughtered during street fighting or summarily executed by regular French government troops (Versaillais) after surrendering. By comparison, the government army lost around 750 to 880 soldiers.
• Executions & Hostages: As the government troops advanced, the Communards executed roughly 100 hostages, including the Archbishop of Paris. The government retaliated with mass tribunal executions that continued well into June.
• Arrests and Exile: In the aftermath, the victorious government arrested roughly 38,000 people and forcefully deported more than 7,000 to penal colonies like New Caledonia.
Property Destruction
As defeat became inevitable, retreating Communards intentionally set fire to major public buildings to slow the army's advance, while government artillery shelling simultaneously leveled entire blocks:
• Tuileries Palace: The historic 16th-century royal palace was completely gutted by a 48-hour fire and later entirely razed.
• Hôtel de Ville: The spectacular Renaissance-era City Hall was torched, permanently destroying centuries of invaluable Parisian civic and historical records.
• Other Landmarks: The Palais d'Orsay (later rebuilt as the Gare d'Orsay and now the Musée d'Orsay) and the Palace of Justice were heavily burned. The Communards also intentionally pulled down the massive Vendôme Column, which celebrated Napoleon Bonaparte's military victories.
• Urban Ruin: Roughly one-third of all photographs taken in Paris immediately following the conflict documented a completely shattered city landscape covered in rubble, burnt-out facades, and makeshift street barricades. The sheer brutality of those final days left deeper political scars in France than even the Reign of Terror during the original French Revolution.
@GoFish The French riots have nothing to do with the migrants, Muslim or otherwise. Muslims and other migrants are participating, but they're not the instigators or driving force behind the riots.
