• The 1848 Revolution in France, sometimes known as the February Revolution (révolution de Février), was one of a wave of revolutions in 1848 in Europe. In France the revolutionary events ended the Orleans monarchy (1830–48) and led to the creation of the French Second Republic.
Lamartine in front of the Town Hall of Paris rejects the red flag on 25 February 1848. Art by Henri Felix Emmanuel Philippoteaux
• The Paris Commune (known in French as La Commune de Paris) was a revolutionary and socialist government that briefly ruled Paris from 18 March until 28 May 1871. The killing of two French army generals by soldiers of the Commune’s National Guard and the refusal of the Commune to accept the authority of the French government led to its harsh suppression by the regular French Army in “La Semaine sanglante” (“The Bloody Week”) beginning on 21 May 1871.
Debates over the policies and outcome of the Commune had significant influence on the ideas of Karl Marx.
A barricade on Rue Voltaire, after its capture by the regular army during the Bloody Week that led to the creation of the Paris Commune.