Élisabeth Rétiffe (born Rose Rétif, January 9, 1834, in
Vézelise, died February 24, 1882, in
Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni
Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni (; gcr, Senloran di Maronni) is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni is one of the three sub-prefectures of French Guiana and the seat ...
) was a French cardboard maker, socialist activist, ambulance worker and communard. She was condemned to death for her action during the
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871.
During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...
, where she was sentenced to perform hard labor before she was deported to
Guyana
Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
.
Biography
Earning her living as a cardboard maker, she decided to help those who were needy in Paris. Her strong temper had her sentenced in 1853 for assault and battery against another woman, and in 1855 for contempt of officers. During the insurrection of the Paris Commune in 1871, she became an ambulance driver and declared that she would have treated the people as well as the
communards.
Witnesses claim to have seen her in May 1871 among the troops of the Communards of Belleville wearing the red scarf and a rifle slung over her shoulder. She is also accused of being a "
petroleuse" and guilty of arson.
While she denied these accusations, she was condemned to death on September 4, 1871, by the 4th
Council of War. Her sentence being commuted on November 27, 1871, to forced labor, she was deported to Guyana. When she was deported, she met a fellow prisoner Jean Berthonier, whom she married.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rétiffe, Élisabeth
1834 births
1882 deaths
Women in 19th-century warfare