1-154-527 - Art Media-Private Collection/Heritage Images

Uprising leading to the establishment of the Paris Commune, 1871. The Paris Commune was established when the citizens of Paris, many of them armed National Guards, rebelled against the policies of the conservative government formed after the end of the Franco-Prussian War. The uprising was sparked by the government's attempt to take possession of the National Guard's cannons. The regular army and the government were forced to withdraw from the city to Versailles. The left-wing regime of the Commune held sway in Paris for two months until government troops retook the city in bloody fighting in May 1871. From a private collection.