Courbet is authorized to reopen the city’s museums

In response to summary executions by government forces, the Commune authorized the detention of people suspected of aiding Versailles and threatened reprisals if captured Communards continued to be...

Patrice de MacMahon was appointed commander of the reorganized government army. Released prisoners of war strengthened the force preparing to retake Paris.

The Polish revolutionary Jarosław Dąbrowski was appointed commander of the Paris military district. He became one of the Commune’s most important battlefield commanders.

Élisabeth Dmitrieff and Nathalie Lemel helped establish a citywide women’s organization. It mobilized women for nursing, defence, paid work and demands for social and economic equality.

A decree suspended legal action over commercial debts and extended repayment periods. The measure sought to protect small businesses and workers from the economic consequences of the siege.

Trade-union and workers’ organizations were asked to identify workshops abandoned by their owners and prepare plans for their operation by cooperative associations. The decree became one of the...

Voters filled seats left vacant by resignations, multiple elections and deaths. Turnout was lower than in March, reflecting warfare, political division and population flight.

The Commune postponed payment deadlines for commercial bills to protect debtors affected by the siege and civil war.

The declaration set out a programme of autonomous communes united in a democratic republic. It called for local control of administration, education, police and finances while affirming the unity of...

Vacant homes were requisitioned for people whose houses had been damaged by bombardment. The measure attempted to respond to displacement caused by the fighting.