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La Bastille
The Bastille was a
fortress that was built to guard Paris' eastern front.
Charles V and Henri II
added four towers and increased the stronghold facing the city's outskirts.
The Bastille became a
symbol of the despotic monarchy when prisoners of the State were moved to these
towers. The seven prisoners were released in triumph on July 14, 1789.
The rue Saint-Antoine
was barricaded by the fortress. Entrance to the city was through the city gate
of Saint-Antoine situated north of the rue de la Bastille. Built by Blondel in
1671, this gate which resembled an arch of triumph was demolished in 1778.
The Eleventh arrondissement has played an exceptional role
in Paris history. The seeds of the 1789 were scattered here developing the
ideas of the people for a republican and social France.
As
noted by Victor Hugo “ce vieux fauboug est un héros” (this old suburb is a hero).
In
1830 the local resistance eventually became the Commune of Paris of 1871.
An
artistic tradition of hand made products is a legacy of the 11th
since the 15th century. Although less evident now, one can still see
artisans at work in tucked away alleys and courtyards with the Faubourg
Saint-Antoine.
A
tradition in the dramatic arts has been popular in the 11th since the
17th century and is very active today in this trendy arrondissement.
Through political means, the municipality continues to coordinate a respect for
historical tradition with the changes of modernization taking place today.
Historical dates
1789
This old suburb is a
hero – Victor Hugo
The people of this
neighborhood made their entry into history in 1789.
In April, a rich
manufacturer named Réveillon decided to institute a new tax that would have
adversely affected the salary of the lowest-paid workers and others already
victims of misery and famine.
On April 28, crowds
gathered on rue de Montreuil, proceeded toward Réveillon’s factories, and
pillaged them.
The reprisals were
unforgivable. The revolution had begun. Less than three months later, July 14,
the Bastille prison, which today is memorialized with the Colonne de Juillet was
overrun.
This spelled the end
of the absolute monarchy. The people of the suburbs were at the forefront of the
French Revolution and blamed the king for his political role in their situation.
In 1792, the group
that became known as the “sans culottes” seized the royal family in the
Tuileries Palace.
After the fall of
Robespierre, the people of the 11th rose up again against the famine
and marched against the Convention crying “Bread or Death” (“du pain ou la
mort”).
The government called
up the army, came down hard and silenced the people of the suburbs.
1830
French Révolution De Juillet is also called July Days (1830. It is the
insurrection that brought
Louis-Philippe to the throne of France. The revolution was
precipitated by
Charles X's publication (July 26) of restrictive ordinances
contrary to the spirit of the Charter of 1814. Protests and demonstrations were
followed by three days of fighting (July 27–29), the abdication of Charles X
(August 2), and the proclamation of Louis-Philippe as “king
of the…
1871
A brief history of the world's first
socialist working class uprising. The workers of Paris, joined by mutinous
National Guardsmen, seized the city and set about re-organising society in their
own interests based on workers' councils. They could not hold out, however, when
more troops retook the city and massacred 30,000 workers in bloody revenge.
The Paris Commune is
often said to be the first example of working people taking power. For this
reason it is a highly significant event, even though it is ignored in the French
history curriculum. On May 18 1871, after France was defeated by Prussia in the
Franco-Prussian war, the French government sent troops into Paris to try and
take back the Parisian National Guard’s cannon before the people got hold of it.
Much to the dismay of the French government, the citizens of Paris had got (sic)
hold of them, and wouldn't give them up. The soldiers refused to fire on their
own people and instead
turned their weapons on their officers….
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May 2008