U Kyaw Tint - Paris Uprising

Chapter - 1

Fall of the French Empire

The workers, no matter how much they protest and act together, will not be able to gain freedom. Only when the middle class, merchants, and brokers, who are divided into different sects in the country, cooperate can they gain political power. Only then can the country be reformed according to the will of the people. Then, if the workers and the employers are not in harmony, the employers will have to give in to the demands of the workers without hesitation.

On December 2, 1851, the great French general Napoleon Bonaparte seized power and established the Second French Empire. During his reign, he generously donated public buildings, such as churches, hospitals, and old people's homes. After 17 years of rule, the king was faced with a number of special and varied responsibilities. He had long since realized that the old way of life had led him to the height of poverty, and he had no choice but to spread it anew. In Paris, political unrest, unprecedented in the past 17 years, broke out towards the end of the summer of 1868.

Political leaders who did not like or want the current government and wanted change and rebellion met with their followers and discussed it. The opposition group also met with a political prisoner named Blinky in prison and formed a secret society. Blinky escaped from prison in disguise and was imprisoned for political reasons. He was 65 years old. The years between his imprisonment and his exile from the country were about 28 years. He was a real rebel leader, but he was not a communist. He had about 3,000 followers. The main leaders of the opposition group were Rolfe, Proudhon, and Karl Marx. Although their ideology was different from Blinky's, their goals were the same.

Between 1857 and 1867, workers' wages fell. However, the government promised to eradicate poverty. It provided subsidies to form cooperatives. Workers accepted government assistance and formed cooperatives. Workers' unions were formed. The metalworkers went on strike in 1867 and won. In 1864, the bookbinders went on strike and won a pay increase. The king repealed the law to prevent strikes. However, the army was sent to protect the bourgeoisie and suppress the strikers.

The French king sent 200 French workers to the London Exhibition in 1862 as representatives of France. The ministers of state did not approve of this. The king's intention was that the French workers would become more civilized when they met the English workers. It was thought that they would abandon their frequent strikes. At the London Exhibition, the English bourgeoisie advised employers and workers to work together in harmony. Only through such harmony could the problems of the unemployed be resolved amicably, he said. The 200 workers sent by France returned from London divided. The division was also caused by the fact that some English political leaders and Karl Marx claimed that the king had sent the workers' representatives because they wanted them to be constantly oppressed by the bourgeoisie. Opposition leader Blinky also said that sending workers to the exhibition in London was nothing more than a trick of the king.

In 1864, the Workers' Union of All Nations was founded in London. By 1867, the French Workers' Union had only about 600 members. The monthly dues were small. The fund was only 67 gold coins. Karl Marx said that the Workers' Union was like a child's play and could not succeed. The government police had even reported that the Workers' Union was a secret and dangerous organization. According to this report, a trial was held in March 1868. Many of the members were severely punished. By then, the Workers' Union in Paris had completely collapsed. Karl Marx and his disciples founded another Workers' Union. This union had seventy thousand members, one in seven of the working people in Paris. The population of Paris in 1793 was only 800,000. In 1871, it had grown to 1,800,000. There are about 40,000 or 50,000 people. This increase in population is due to people coming from other countries.

There was no progress in the expansion of handicrafts. It was declining day by day. The decline was due to the poor government. The government was always trying to divide the opposition factions. The closer the empire came to an end, the more divided the opposition factions became. Some wanted a democratic presidency. Some wanted a republican presidency.

At the beginning of 1869, Germany and France were on the verge of war. Only a united front of patriots could protect France from the enemy. Therefore, the government had to ask for help from patriots. During this situation, a case arose that caused distrust in the government. In this case, a madman named Thierry Minné killed all his family. He was executed by the government for murder. A newspaper wrote that the government was killing a madman. Why was the culprit not prosecuted for another murder? The culprit in the other murder was Prince Pierre Napoleon Bonaparte, the king's cousin. He had shot and killed a leftist journalist, Bitternoy, without any reason. The case could not be covered up. The country was in turmoil.

The court ordered him to pay 25,000 baht in compensation.

On the day of the funeral of the leftist Bitanor, 2,000 of Blinky's followers were to march through Paris armed with weapons. But the other two leaders prevented them from marching. The opposition groups realized how strong they were. That very evening, the Karl Marx Workers' Association became known as the Paris branch of the London-based Workers' Association. After Bitanor's funeral, Paris was in chaos and there were guerrilla riots.

The opposition factions, misunderstanding and accusing each other, split again. At that time, Robert was arrested by the police for preaching to discredit the government. 450 leaders of the leftist faction were also arrested for plotting to kill the king, and 379 were released due to lack of evidence. The remaining leaders were punished. Robert was also imprisoned.

The king held an election to determine whether the country wanted the independence of the empire to continue. In that election, more than 7 million people voted for it. Only more than 1 million people voted against it. There were still more than 1 million who did not vote.

The expansion of handicrafts in the country also declined. The employers began to reduce the wages of their workers. The workers also stopped work and used the weapon of strike. The most important strike was the Le Creusot steelworks. The workers went on strike on January 1, 1870. The leader of the strike was Alfonso. The cause was supported by the ideology of the Confederation of Labor and the newspaper published by Robert. Therefore, the state sympathetically supported the legitimate demands of the workers. The king's system of workers' freedom (so-called) began to appear with this strike. The employers, who were rightly demanding a wage increase, asked the government for help in order to obtain their relief. The government oppresses workers mercilessly.

Crusoe, the owner of a steelworks, is a philanderer and a loyalist of the king. His works are run by a group of workers.