Joséphine Marguerite Marchais, née Rabier (13 April 1837 – 20 February 1874), was a French day labourer who was an active participant in 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 ...

in 1871. Arrested while carrying weapons, she was condemned to death. Her sentence was commuted to forced labour, and she was deported to

Guiana The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories: * French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France * ...

Biography

Joséphine Marchais was born 13 April 1837 in Blois in

Loir-et-Cher Loir-et-Cher (, ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Its name is originated from two rivers which cross it, the Loir in its northern part and the Cher in its southern part. Its prefecture is Blois. The INSEE and La P ...

. She was from a disadvantaged background and had a difficult family situation. She herself spent six months in prison for theft, and her mother and sister were also incarcerated. In 1871, during the Paris Commune, she was a

vivandière Vivandière or cantinière is a French name for women who are attached to military regiments as sutlers or canteen keepers. Their actual historic functions of selling wine to the troops and working in canteens led to the adoption of the name 'cant ...

in the Enfants Perdus, along with her lover, a butcher's assistant named Jean Guy. According to witnesses, she was at the barricade on the Rue de Lille on 22 and 23 May, with her rifle and

Tyrolean hat The Tyrolean hat (german: Tirolerhut, it, cappello alpino), also Bavarian hat or Alpine hat, is a type of headwear that originally came from the Tyrol in the Alps, in what is now part of Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. It is an essenti ...

; she was accused of looting, obscenity, and profanity, and was said to have declared, "if I am killed, I want to kill first!" Witnesses also said that she forced her lover to remain at the barricade when he wanted to desert. She was arrested carrying weapons and red scarves, along with

Élisabeth Rétiffe Élisabeth Rétiffe (born Rose Rétif, January 9, 1834, in Vézelise, died February 24, 1882, in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni) was a French cardboard maker, socialist activist, ambulance worker and communard. She was condemned to death for her action ...

Eulalie Papavoine Eulalie Papavoine (born 11 November 1846 in Auxerre and died 24 May 1875 in Châlons-en-Champagne). She was a Parisian seamstress. She participated in the Paris Commune as an ambulance nurse. Biography Paris Commune Eulalie Papavoine was ...

and

Léontine Suétens Léontine Suétens (1846-1891) was a Washerwoman, laundress and a communard. She was convicted in the trial of the "pétroleuses", which began 3 September 1871. Life Before the Paris Commune Léontine Suétens was born in 1846 in Beauvais. ...

.. She denied the charges, saying that she had only been near the barricade because she had been carrying laundry for the troops, but she was sentenced to death in September 1871. She was defended not by a lawyer, but by a lieutenant, Guinez, whose assertion that poverty was to blame for her participation in the Commune found sympathetic ears in the trial audience, but not in the Council of War. Her sentence was commuted on 27 November 1871 to forced labour in perpetuity. She was taken to the penal colony in

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

, where she escaped the year following, on 20 November 1872. Recaptured on the 26th, she died in prison at

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 ...

on 20 February 1874. The cause of her death is unknown, and the date is uncertain; according to another source, she could still have been living in 1885, married to a gendarme.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marchais, Josephine 1837 births 1874 deaths People from Blois Communards Deaths in French Guiana