The Paris Commune of 1871 remains an inspirational episode in the history of the class struggle. Revolutionaries must study the lessons of the Communards’ heroic efforts to build the first workers’ state.

Jules Legendre, from Révolution – the French section of the International Marxist Tendency – discusses the inspiring, yet tragic, historical episode of the Paris Commune, explaining the lessons that revolutionaries must draw for today.

Beginning 150 years ago, on 18 March 1871, the masses of Paris rose up and established the first ever workers’ state. It is vital for socialists to study the Commune: its heroic rise, its tragic fall, and its lessons for revolutionaries today.