Théophile Charles Gilles Ferré,(Paris, 1846 - Satory, 1871) was one of the members of the Paris Commune

Paris Commune

The Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It existed before the split between anarchists and Marxists had taken place, and it is hailed by both groups as the first assumption of power by the working class during the Industrial Revolution...

. He, together with Louis Rossel

Louis Rossel

Louis-Nathaniel Rossel was a French army officer and politician. On 19 March 1871 he became the only senior French officer to join up with the Paris Commune, and here he played an important rôle as Minister of War....

 and Bourgeois, was one of the first to be executed (November 22, 1871) at Satory

Satory

Satory is an area south of Versailles in France. It is mostly known for its military camp, housing:* Weapon-testing facilities of GIAT Industries* Barracks and facilities for gendarmerie including the GIGN headquarters and the gendarmerie armored squadron...

, the military base south-west of Versailles

Versailles

Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...

.

Théophile Ferré was condemned to death for having ordered the execution of six hostages including Georges Darboy

Georges Darboy

Georges Darboy was a French Catholic priest, later bishop of Nancy then archbishop of Paris. He was among a group of prominent hostages executed as the Paris Commune of 1871 was about to be overthrown....

, the archbishop of Paris

Archbishop of Paris

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris is one of twenty-three archdioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The original diocese is traditionally thought to have been created in the 3rd century by St. Denis and corresponded with the Civitas Parisiorum; it was elevated to an archdiocese on...

. Darboy, Bonjean (président de chambre à la Cour de cassation), the priest Deguerry of the Église de la Madeleine

Église de la Madeleine

L'église de la Madeleine is a Roman Catholic church occupying a commanding position in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It was designed in its present form as a temple to the glory of Napoleon's army...

, and Allard, Clerc, Ducoudray of the Society of Jesus

Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

 were executed on May 24 - the ill-fated Wednesday of the "Semaine Sanglante" (Sunday, May 21-Sunday, May 28). This act was in retaliation for the summary executions by the Versailles troops who by then had already captured the heights of Montmartre

Montmartre

Montmartre is a hill which is 130 metres high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district...

, where Ferré, who had been elected to the Commune by the XVIIIth district (Montmartre), was among the last defenders.

Ferré was also charged with having issued the order to burn down the ministry of Finance. At the trial a note reading :"Flambez Finance!" signed by Ferré was produced. The signature later proved a forgery (Lissagaray). Ferré nevertheless did indeed order the burning of buildings.(see also: Pétroleuses

Pétroleuses

Pétroleuses were, according to popular rumours at the time, female supporters of the Paris Commune, accused of burning down much of Paris during the last days of the Commune in May 1871...

)

Louise Michel

Louise Michel

Louise Michel was a French anarchist, school teacher and medical worker. She often used the pseudonym Clémence and was also known as the red virgin of Montmartre...

 was deeply in love with Théophile Ferré. Both were from the same district:Montmartre. Both took the same defiant attitude at their trial, as described by Lissagaray in his "Histoire de la Commune de 1871" (Bruxelles: Kistemaeckers ed, 1876)

The Commune had attempted to negotiate to exchange Mgr Darboy with Louis Auguste Blanqui

Louis Auguste Blanqui

Louis Auguste Blanqui was a French political activist, notable for the revolutionary theory of Blanquism, attributed to him....

. The American ambassador in Paris, Elihu B. Washburne

Elihu B. Washburne

Elihu Benjamin Washburne was one of seven brothers who played a prominent role in the early formation of the United States Republican Party...

, was the intermediary in negotiations over this with Versailles. He could only communicate Adolphe Thiers

Adolphe Thiers

Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers was a French politician and historian. was a prime minister under King Louis-Philippe of France. Following the overthrow of the Second Empire he again came to prominence as the French leader who suppressed the revolutionary Paris Commune of 1871...

's refusal to the Communards.

Sources

• Lissagaray: "Histoire de la Commune de 1871" (1876) Paris: Librairie Marcel Rivière -Bibliothèque des Sciences Politiques et Sociales, 1947 (see:http://www.marxists.org/history/france/archive/lissagaray/index.htm)
• Bernard Noël: "Dictionnaire de la Commune" Paris: Champs Flammarion, 1978