16 abr 1848 año - Mock uprising manufactured by Provisional Government

Descripción:

“16 April was a misunderstanding engineered by the Provisional Government with the help of the bourgeoisie. The workers had gathered in large numbers on the Champ de Mars and in the Hippodrome in order to prepare for the elections for the general staff of the National Guard. Suddenly the rumour spread from one end of Paris to the other, with lightning speed, that the workers had armed themselves and gathered on the Champ de Mars, led by Louis Blanc, Blanqui,46 Cabet47 and Raspail, with the intention of marching from there to the Hôtel de Ville to overthrow the Provisional Government and to proclaim a communist government. The general alarm was sounded – later Ledru-Rollin, Marrast48 and Lamartine all fought for the honour of having taken this initiative – and within one hour 100,000 men were under arms, the Hôtel de Ville was occupied at all points by the National Guard, the cry, ‘Down with the Communists! Down with Louis Blanc, Blanqui, Raspail, Cabet!’ thundered through Paris and innumerable deputations paid homage to the Provisional Government, all of them ready to save the fatherland and society. When the workers finally appeared in front of the Hôtel de Ville to hand the Provisional Government a patriotic collection, taken at the Champ de Mars, they learnt to their amazement that bourgeois Paris had defeated their shadow in a carefully conducted mock battle. The terrible attempt of 16 April furnished the pretext for the recall of the army to Paris – the actual purpose of this clumsily arranged farce – and for reactionary federalist demonstrations in the provinces.”

p. 389-90

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