Britannica Sources used in this answer

What role did the French Foreign Legion play in the repression of the Paris Commune in 1871?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

French Foreign Legion soldiers in uniform with white hats and rifles stand in formation during a Bastille Day parade on the Champs Elysees in Paris. — French Foreign Legion Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion in a parade celebrating Bastille Day in Paris.

During the spring of 1871, the French Foreign Legion participated in the military repression of the Commune of Paris, an insurrection that challenged the authority of the Third Republic.1

Following the collapse of the Second Empire and the defeat in the Franco-German War, the 1831 law that had previously prohibited the Legion from serving on French soil was suspended. While the Legion’s involvement in the conflict has been compared to the historical use of Swiss mercenaries by the Bourbon regime, it is important to note that the vast majority of the approximately 1,000 legionnaires who fought to restore government control over Paris were, in fact, French.1

The Legion’s performance during this period was described as spotty, hampered by a lack of officers and a collapsed supply system during the winter of 1870–71. Ultimately, the government’s forces succeeded in crushing the opposition during the "bloody week" (la semaine sanglante) in May 1871, resulting in significant casualties and mass arrests among the insurrectionists.123