The Siege, Starvation, and the Start of the Communard Revolt. Sebastian Smee discusses how during the Prussian siege of Paris, Parisians suffered terribly in the coldest winter on record. Radical Republicans grew furious at the moderate government's failu

The Siege, Starvation, and the Start of the Communard Revolt. Sebastian Smee discusses how during the Prussian siege of Paris, Parisians suffered terribly in the coldest winter on record. Radical Republicans grew furious at the moderate government's failure to defeat the Prussians. When the government surrendered and accepted severe conditions, the radicals decided to revolt. The revolutionaries, gathering in March 1871, seized cannons and established the Commune. The Communards were more libertarian than communist, aiming to democratize society. They were violent immediately, and the government forces retreated to Versailles. Paris found itself besieged again by French government forces directed by Adolphe Thiers.