Paris was the traditional home of French radical movements.
Revolutionaries had gone into the streets to oppose their governments during the popular uprisings of July 1830 and June 1848, and on many other occasions.

Of the radical and revolutionary groups in Paris at the time of the Commune, the most conservative were the "radical republicans".
This group included the young doctor and future prime minister Georges Clemenceau, who was a member of the National Assembly and Mayor of the 18th arrondissement.
Clemenceau tried to negotiate a compromise between the Commune and the government, but neither side trusted him; he was considered extremely radical by the provincial deputies of rural France, but too moderate by the leaders of the Commune.

The most extreme revolutionaries in Paris were the followers of Louis Auguste Blanqui, a charismatic professional revolutionary who had spent most of his adult life in prison.
He had about a thousand followers, many of them armed and organized into cells of ten persons each.
Each cell operated independently and was unaware of the members of the other groups, communicating only with their leaders by code.
Blanqui had written a manual on revolution, Instructions for an Armed Uprising, to give guidance to his followers.
Though their numbers were small, the Blanquists provided many of the most disciplined soldiers and several of the senior leaders of the Commune.
Paris was the traditional home of French radical movements. Revolutionaries had gone into the streets to oppose their governments during the popular uprisings of July 1830 and June 1848, and on many other occasions.
Of the radical and revolutionary groups in Paris at the time of the Commune, the most conservative were the "radical republicans". This group included the young doctor and future prime minister Georges Clemenceau, who was a member of the National Assembly and Mayor of the 18th arrondissement. Clemenceau tried to negotiate a compromise between the Commune and the government, but neither side trusted him; he was considered extremely radical by the provincial deputies of rural France, but too moderate by the leaders of the Commune.
The most extreme revolutionaries in Paris were the followers of Louis Auguste Blanqui, a charismatic professional revolutionary who had spent most of his adult life in prison. He had about a thousand followers, many of them armed and organized into cells of ten persons each. Each cell operated independently and was unaware of the members of the other groups, communicating only with their leaders by code. Blanqui had written a manual on revolution, Instructions for an Armed Uprising, to give guidance to his followers. Though their numbers were small, the Blanquists provided many of the most disciplined soldiers and several of the senior leaders of the Commune.
Paris Commune