Slow revolutionary deaths: Murder, silence and memory in the early third republic

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Abstract

This article analyses the context and consequences of a political murder in December 1870 and how it was remembered under the Third Republic. Arnaud, a well-known republican, was murdered by his neighbours and friends for political reasons. His death signalled growing tensions within the ruling regime at war and it also highlighted the danger of relying on the 'nation in arms' to underpin the legitimacy of the Republic established on 4 September 1870. The subsequent murder trial became notorious and emblematic, but its precise details, like the deeper meaning of the event, remained obscure. This article reflects on the narrative inconsistencies of the incident. Confusion in the way the Arnaud story was told meant that while Arnaud was deemed worthy of a grand funeral, and even of some commemoration at the time of anarchist unrest in the 1890s, the Third Republic could ill afford remembrance of his death and the accompanying civil war in the provinces. © Oxford University Press and the Society for the Study of French History 2003; all rights reserved.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)280-306
Number of pages26
JournalFrench History
Volume17
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2003

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