Constant Marie

Constant Marie, known as Le Père Lapurge (17 August 1838 – 5 August 1910) was a French communard, shoemaker, anarchist and poet. He was the author of several popular revolutionary songs.

Constant Marie
1900 portrait
Born	(1838-08-17)17 August 1838 Sainte-Houvrince, Calvados, France
Died	17 August 1910(1910-08-17) (aged 72)
Nationality	French
Occupation(s)	Mason, shoemaker
Known for	Anarchist songs

Early years

Constant Marie was born on 27 August 1838 in Sainte-Houvrince, Calvados.^[1] He began work as a bricklayer. He participated in the Paris Commune, and was wounded in the fighting at the Vanves fort.^[2]

Anarchist shoemaker and songwriter

Due to his injuries Constant Marie was forced to change occupation to become a shoemaker. He became an anarchist and began to compose revolutionary songs.^[2] Within twelve years of the fall of the commune in 1871, Constant Marie's songs had become very popular in some circles.^[3] Constant Marie often performed at festivities of anarchist groups. He came to the attention of the police, who searched his house on 1 July 1894 and seized books and the texts of his songs. He was arrested and charged with "membership of a criminal conspiracy." He spent several weeks in the Mazas Prison before his conditional release, and remained under police surveillance until 1905.^[2] As a young man the anarchist, journalist and then Communist activist Fernand Desprès (1879–1949) worked as a shoemaker with Constant Marie.^[4]

Constant Marie died on 5 August 1910.^[1]

Works

Le Père Lapurge ("Father Purge") was published in 1886 in the Calais anarchist newspaper La Révolte des Affamés. Constant Marie's other well-known songs included Dame dynamite and La Muse rouge. This last gave its name in 1901 to a famous group of revolutionary poets and singers.^[2] By 1891 he was also known for Révolté, Jacques normand, Tocsin and Affranchie.^[5] His songs continued to be performed in cabarets after the turn of the century.^[3]