Civil unrest is nothing new in Paris. To an outsider, it seems that Revolution is in French genes.
Louise Michel wrote of March 18, 1871; Then before dawn the Versailles reactionaries sent in troops to seize the cannon now held by the National Guard. One of the points they moved toward was the Butte of Montmartre, where our cannon had been taken. The soldiers of the reactionaries captured our artillery by surprise, but they were unable to haul them away as they had intended, because they had neglected to bring horses with them.Learning that the Versailles soldiers were trying to seize the cannon, men and women of Montmartre swarmed up the Butte in a surprise manoeuvre. Those people who were climbing believed they would die, but they were prepared to pay the price.
The other districts of Paris, hearing of the events taking place on the Butte of Montmartre, came to our assistance. The women of Paris covered the cannon with their bodies. When their officers ordered the soldiers to fire, the men refused. They gave up their attempt to seize the cannon from the National Guard.
The people arrested General Lecomte, who commanded the soldiers that had moved against Montmartre, as well as General Clément Thomas, whose curiosity had led him to watch what he thought would be the degradation of Paris. His soldiers remembered, and vengeance came out of the past. The hour struck for them. I twill strike for many others, without the Revolution pausing in its course. Michel ,Louise. Red Virgin. University of Alabama Press. Kindle Edition.