1871 in France

The year 1871 in France was dominated by the Franco-Prussian War. The war technically started in July of 1870, but did not end until the 10th of May 1871. The war was centered around a conflict between the Second French Empire, and the united North German Confederation (led by Prussia.). Conflict began when Prussia wanted to extend the unification and expansion of Germany. An attack was planned on France to gain the southern German states. This insulted France, and they demanded war. Napoleon III was in charge at this point, and was nervous, but the French army assured him that they would easily be able to win the war. After war was officially declared, the French were surprised at the speed and size of the German Army. In addition, Germans were better trained, better equipped, and made better use of their resources than France. Over the next five months, Germany continued to defeat France in devastating amounts. Some of the battles included:

• Battle of Wissembourg
• Battle of Spicheren
• Battle of Worth
• Battle of Gravelotte
• Battle of Sedan
• Siege of Metz
• Siege of Paris

This was Europe During all of this change:

Following the fall of the Paris Capital, revolutionaries called the Paris Commune attempted to take power. They held power for approximately 2 months. Soon after, they were suppressed (with a large amount of casualties) by the regular French army. (This was at the end of May 1871). The Paris Commune was in charge between the Second and Third Republic of France. 

All of this upset all of the treaties in Europe, unifying the continent into two main powers. These treaties had been in place as a type of checks and balances since 1815, but they failed when everyone just started ganging up on one another. All of these treaties were the root of World War 1. 

To give everyone an idea of how out-done the French was:

• The french Army contained about 400,000 soldiers, the German army consisted of 1,000,000 soldiers
• The French Army was not trained, the German army was trained very well.
• The French Army had shitty, common guns, the German army also had shitty guns
• French Army moved in lines (easy targets), the German army moved in clusters (difficult to target).

Anyway, all this is considered a major player in the start of World War 1. 

Charles Fourier

Charles Fourier (1772-1837) was an important early Socialist thinker. His Utopian vision is, retrospectively at least, rather laughable but his radical social and moral perspectives have become somewhat mainstream in contemporary thought. Fourier, for example, is credited with originating the word feminism in 1837 and supported equal access to work regardless of gender. He also defended homosexuality, seeing it as a personal preference for some people. He also defended children whose imagination and curiosity typified the kind of passionate and industrious labor that he wanted to see flourish. However, despite his socially progressive leanings on most issues he did have an anti-Semitic worldview. He detested trade, or at least the act of profiting from it, and saw it as the source of all evil. In his mind this institution was the doing of 'the Jew' and so, of course, in his future Utopian society they would be forced to work the farm fields.


However, the real cornerstone of Fourier's thought has less to do with his socially progressive leanings than it does with his strangely detailed Utopian vision. One of the important features of his thought is the concept of 'attractive work,' that is labor that is performed willingly and most likely for the satisfaction of one's own desire or benefit. Unfortunately, Fourier does not concern himself with trying to understand why it is that work (especially industrial work) is so unattractive and mundane, which Marx will flesh out later. This lack of insight leads him to characterize poverty, and not inequality, as the real catalyst of disorder in society. In this way Fourerism is not a critical attack against existing socio-economic processes but a sort of Platonic idealization of what should but cannot be. I say 'cannot be' because several attempts have been made to develop the kind of intentional community that Fourier's thought seems to lead one towards. Unsurprisingly the majority of these communities have popped up in the States (examples being Utopia, Ohio and Hawthorne's Brook Farm), where the lack of a strong left-wing presence makes the sort of reactionary establishment of 'intentional communities' seem attractive.

French Revolution 1848

    In European history, the year of 1848 has become an important year, it was the ultimate year of revolution throughout Europe. From 1845 to 1846, some of European countries suffered serious natural disaster. In 1847 of the economic crisis in Europe. The starvation, unemployment and economic depression exacerbated the European social contradictions and ethnic conflicts. From 1848 to 1849, the revolution broke out in France, Germany, Austria, Italy and Hungary and other European countries. In France itself, the February Revolution was on of a wave of revolutions in 1848 in Europe.

Let’s take a look at Louis Philippe. Louis Phillippe was not a fan favorite of the French middle class, who are called bourgeois. By 1848 only about one percent of the population held the franchise, even though France had a free press and trial by jury, but only landholders were permitted to vote. 

The dissatisfaction from the proletariat, the bourgeoisie, the religious and the conservatives resulted in February Revolution of 1848. Overall, the misgoverning and lack of political rulers charm is the cause of the February revolution. 

    The working classes again put barricades up in the streets, and an unruly Paris mob frightened Louis Philippe into abdicating. The national guard was ordered to restore the order at the protest, but instead of executed commands, they turned to the masses of the revolution. On 23 February, Prime Minister Guizot resigned. Kind Louis Philippe abdicated and fled to UK. and Lamartine was appointed president of the provisional government, which was called the Second Republic.

    Though clamming to be liberal, the newly elected President was mostly interested in reestablishing order, he promptly got rid of socialist in the government. He encouraged religious influence in school teaching, and then after becoming confident of his support base, he declared himself Emperor Napoleon III. The revolution in France once again ended with a new dictator. 

marx in Paris

In 1871, the French government had briefly lost control to a newly-developed, political Commune. Driven by the demands of the working class, the Commune had aimed for the emancipation of workers. At this time, Marx had been working on the First International, an organization which encouraged the working class to act independently. As political tensions rose within France, Marx's call to the working class was heard amongst working class Parisians. 

Following France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, political tension escalated between the government and working class. Despite this tension, Marx had advised against a political uprising, as this might have diminished France's strength in the eyes of the other European powers. Rather than encouraging them to revolt, Marx suggested they challenge the authority in order to gradually improve their opportunities of liberty. This advice had been ignored several times by the Jacobins and Blanquists, whose attempted uprisings had failed twice. 

Marx had constructed a manifesto for the Commune, which declared their Republican freedom, and ultimately lead them to overthrow Napoleon III. However, Marx's Socialist ideology had not been linear to that of the Commune, whose attraction to Marx had stemmed primarily from the desire for social reform. Marx had realized the shortcomings of the Commune, whose political ideologies had veered from his own, and whose power he realized would inevitably diminish.

After a few mere months, the Commune crumbles as a political power. Though Marx had predicted these shortcomings, he however did not invalidate the movement. Marx had believed that the significance of the Commune had lied in its mere existence. The Paris Commune had been the first worker-driven, governing body. Marx had perceived such political action as the first step in the establishment of Socialism. 

Le Festival de Cannes

First blog post in a while...

This last weekend I went to Cannes with my friends that are actually from there. I stayed at the house of my friend’s mother, a 60 year old woman who reminds me of the woman with the weird house that gets killed in Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange.

Not because of the woman herself, but because of the statues she has in her house that reminds me of that house from the movie - she has a statue of a naked woman with her legs opened in her living room. I thought it was awesome. 

Anyway, the house had a pool and a backyard, both which I greatly miss, it was nice to be in a house with a lot of room to walk around, trees, plants, room, room, room.

Cannes was beautiful, we lived 3 minutes away from the Croisette, we even went to Juan-Les-Pins, which is really close from Cannes, in a convertible BMW, pas mal non? I got to see the life in a different side of France, where they have cars and no traffic, where the air is pure, and smells like ocean. It reminded me of home.

Promenade de la Croisette

La Croisette and posters of the festival <3

HOWEVER, the best part of it all, even better than all the parties, pool, private beach, the Croisette, was what was going on in Cannes...

LE FESTIVAL DE CANNES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Montée des Marches happens in that red carpet for every movie.

Still the same building, different side, this is called Palais des Festivals, there's the main theater inside where the films are shown (only the big ones, or during the first exhibit, after they move to smaller theaters all over town).

I’m a film major, and nothing in this life makes me happier than watching films and talking about films, and reading about films......

Well, the festival is all that into one. Everyone is in town for the festival, all the stars, even though my favorite two people in this business (WOODY freaking ALLEN, and Léa Seydoux!! [next Bond girl, but don’t get too excited, she’s mine]) were there one week before I arrived, I was pretty upset about it.

But still, being in a city where they are celebrating films, not just any films, amazing ones, and some bad ones (the worst one this year was American, "The Sea of Trees") from all over the world,  and seeing all these people talking about film everywhere you go is simply perfect, I felt like I was in a dream.

I got to watch some short film as well, but the one movie I really wanted to see apart from Woody Allen’s “Irrational Man”, was invitation only, so I couldn’t see it, but I heard it from a friend that saw it and she said it was great, the movie is called “The Lobster” and it won the Prix du Jury in the festival (Léa Seydoux is in it).

Going to the Festival was a dream to me, before I found out about it, I was a huge fan of the Oscars, but then three years ago I discovered Woody Allen films, which led me to Foreign films, from Sweden, Italy, and of course France. When I watched a French movie called La Vie d’Adèle in March 2014, I didn’t know much about French films or even about the Festival, and above all, I could not understand a single word of French.

First movie I've ever bought in France :)

Adèle Exarchopoulos, Abdellatif Kechiche, LEA SEYDOUX, and the Palme d'Or,
Festival de Cannes 2013.

After I watched this movie I fell in love with it, instantly. I was fascinated by the story, the cinematography, the acting, and French – it sounded so good. And so I made my research on the filmmaker and actresses, the production and so on, and then I found out it had won the main award of the Festival de Cannes in 2013, the famous Palme d’Or.

After that I started watching films that had previously won the award in the Festival, and started watching a bunch of French movies. I discovered that my favorites were from the 60s, the French New Wave period, I loved the politics in the films, the style, the songs, the philosophy, the flawed heroes/characters, the cigarette smoking, and French.

I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for La Vie d’Adèle.

I can't wait to go back to Cannes, hopefully one day to exhibit my very own film. 

The red-virgin of Montmartre

Who: Louise Michel aka badass chick-person

What: French revolutionary, anarchist, feminist, advocate of sensational acts of violence, school teacher, and ambulance woman.

Where:  Paris, France

When: 29 May 1830-9 January 1905

Why: Michel was formally trained as a teacher, but because she didn’t acknowledge Napolean III as a noble king, she refused to teach at a state school.  However, she eventually stumbled upon a private school in Montmartre and began harvesting the beliefs she fought so hard to accomplish. In fact she was in a feminist group called the Société pour la Revendication du Droit des Femmes whose main focus was reforming the education made available for girls. She taught at the school from 1866-1870.  

Louise Michel was a pioneer during the Paris Commune of 1871, which was a revolutionary socialist government that controlled France from the 18th of March to the 28th of May.  Even though the revolt was short-lived, Michel still managed to leave her legacy.  She worked as a paramedic attending to the wounded soldiers in the barricades.  France's defeat in the French-Prussian War acted as a catalyst for the Paris Commune.  In addition to her role with the Paris Commune, Michel was a part of the National Guard and fought to protect the Paris Commune from the Versailles troops. 

Unfortunately, she was found guilty of attempting to overthrow the government and inspiring citizens to bear arms, so she and her other communards were deported. She made it back to France and the anarchist flame began to grow; she participated in anarchist demonstrations throughout Europe and preached revolution to the public. 

Fun facts: She was extremely anti-Bonapartist; she despised Napolean III to the extent that she even plotted to assassinate him. 

She was also one of the few women in the 19th century to wear men's clothing during a period of her life. 

There is a metro stop named after her, it used to be called Vallier but it was changed on May 1, 1946.  

The "courtyard" in front of the Sacré-Coeur is also named after her. 

the Dreyfus Affair

            The ninth child of a successful Jewish family, Alfred Dreyfus would grow up comfortable in his home in Alsace. He was born in 1859, rounding out his family and his father’s rags-to-riches story (from peddler to textile manufacturer), and would live a happy ten years before his life’s path would officially begin.

            The Franco-Prussian War, otherwise known as the War of 1870, would break out during the tenth year of Dreyfus’s life. At this time, the Prussian chancellor was Otto von Bismarck, and his goal was to unite all German-speaking people and nations. In order to accomplish this goal, he provoked an attack from the Second Empire of France, thereby drawing the southern German states into an alliance with the northern German states. By doing all this, the German states were able to defeat the French armies and by 1871 Wilhelm I declared a German Empire. Before the Paris Commune could get involved, the Treaty of Frankfurt was signed, wherein the new German Empire was given the territory of Alsace-Lorraine. This annexation prompted Dreyfus’s father to move the family to Europe, uprooting their happy, carefree lives. It was this loss to Germany that would change Dreyfus’s life, because he would now grow with a passion for his nationality that he would feed through a military career.

Alfred Dreyfus circa 1890

            From 1877 all the way up until 1894 when this “affair” began, Dreyfus excelled in his military schooling, earning promotions and receiving honors left and right There was but one snafu wherein a higher ranking officer commented upon Dreyfus’s Jewish background, giving him a low score on his personality test due to implications that a person of Jewish origin would not be welcome in this specific sect of the army. The same officer committed the same offense against another Jewish official, and there was a minor investigation done on the matter, but not much was done given that the person in question possessed so much power. This tiny docking of points on an exam would foreshadow the entire “affair” that Dreyfus was in store for.

J'Accuse...! by Émile Zola, found in L'Aurore on 3 January 1898

            Now the issue itself began in 1894 when the French army’s Counter-Intelligence group found out that there was a rat amongst the General Staff, one that was feeding military secrets to Germany. It was October 15 when Dreyfus was formally arrested for treason, but the term “affair” would not be applied to the case until Émile Zola’s 1898 article J’accuse…! Less than a year later in 1895, Dreyfus would be secretly convicted, although publicly stripped of his titles and honors. This was all followed by the sentence of life in prison, and Dreyfus was sent to Devil’s Island where he was expected to spend the rest of his life.

            After acquiring a new Chief of Military Intelligence, evidence surfaced that suggested Dreyfus’s innocence another Major’s guilt (Ferdinand Esterhazy). This Chief was transferred to Tunisia for voicing these concerns, and reports of this cover-up by the French army were leaked to the press. Despite all this, Esterhazy was found not guilty.  This new information on the Dreyfus Affair as it would come to be known would spark yet another debate within the political sphere of France; not only would the issue of anti-Semitism within society and the military be exposed, but also a discussion in regards to whether or not France could be considered a Catholic nation or a republic founded on the basis of equality which would undermine the impact of religion on politics. Because of all this heat, and because of supporters like Zola pushing for a retrial, Dreyfus was given a second chance in 1896 where he was again convicted as guilty of treason. Although in 1899 Dreyfus was given back his freedom because of the public’s insistent opinion that he was innocent. He lived under house arrest until 1906 when he was officially exonerated and given back his post in the army, even earning the rank of Major and then a Knight of the Legion of Honor. He would go on to serve during World War I.

Alfred Dreyfus circa 1934

            Dreyfus passed away on 12 July 1935 and was buried in the Cimetière du Montparnasse. If a visit here is not enough, a statue of Dreyfus can be found at the exit of the Notre-Dame-des-Champs metrostation, and also at the entrance to the Museum of Jewish Art and History.

            So what were the consequences of this political scandal, which took place right in the middle of Le Belle Époque? Politically speaking, the two sides of France (Nationalists and Republicans) who had been at odds with each other were finally given a battlefield on which to debate. Socially speaking, anti-Semitism had always been prominent and prevalent throughout all of Europe, but with new ideas (some of which we have discussed in class ***the Mule***), racism was becoming less justifiable; and yet there was a sharp spike in anti-Semitism during these years. Many politicians would take advantage of this trend in order to forward themselves. In addition, we see that the press is now affecting French society more strongly, not just informing but also shaping opinions of newsreaders. We are also of course given a new method of analysis; a name was given to people (dreyfusist) who believed that in order to fully understand and appreciate all angles within any political or legal issue, it would be necessary to examine not just the pertinent evidence, but also one must question society and politics. This would be a blatant suggestion that sometimes the government and its methods (in the case of the Dreyfus Affair one questioned France) would have to be questioned.

All of the above are ideas that had been posed by intellectuals all throughout the world, but the Dreyfus Affair would be an example that these thinkers could turn to when in need of an explanation. The Dreyfus Affair, although detrimental to the trust built between the army, the government, and the people of France, would allow for thinkers to widen their funnels so that any and all information could be received, and only then could a proper analysis of any event or idea take place. It was with all of this in mind, the political debates, the anti-Semitic trends, the strength of the press, and the dreyfusist theories, that France would enter the twentieth century.