Besançon Commune

The Besançon Commune (in French Commune de Besançon) was a short-lived revolutionary movement conceived and developed in 1871, aiming at the proclamation of a local autonomous power based on the experiences of the Paris and Lyon Communes.^[1] It originates from social upheavals which metamorphosed the city^[2][1] and with the emergence of unions including a section of IWA in connection with the future Jura Federation.^{[3][4][5][6][1]} The course of events was precipitated by the Franco-Prussian War, the fall of the Second Empire, and the advent of the Third Republic.^[7][1] While many notables testify to an insurrectionary context^[8] and armed support from Switzerland being organized,^[9][10][1] the correspondence left by James Guillaume and Mikhail Bakunin^[11][12] attest to a planned release between the end of May and the beginning of June 1871.^[1] However, with the start of the Semaine sanglante on 21 May and the pursuit of an internal campaign until 7 June, any attempt was seriously compromised.^[1] Despite the hope of a restart, in the following weeks and months the idea of an insurrection was definitively abandoned, later reinforced by the extinction of groups and activities described as "anarchist" from 1875.^[1]

Besançon Commune
Part of the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War
Besançon-Battant, in 1860's.
Date April – June 1871 Location Besançon, France
Belligerents
French Republic	Communards National Guards IWA
Commanders and leaders
	Séverin Robert Vladimir Ozerov