Léontine Suétens (1846-1891) was a

laundress A washerwoman or laundress is a woman who takes in laundry. Both terms are now old-fashioned; equivalent work nowadays is done by a laundry worker in large commercial premises, or a laundrette (laundromat) attendant. Description As evidenc ...

and a communard. She was convicted in the trial of the "

pétroleuses ''Pétroleuses'' were, according to popular rumours at the time, female supporters of the Paris Commune, accused of burning down much of Paris during the last days of the Commune in May 1871. During May, when Paris was being recaptured by loyali ...

", which began 3 September 1871.

Life

Before the Paris Commune

Léontine Suétens was born in 1846 in Beauvais. Her father, Jean Baptiste Suétens, a tailor with progressive ideas, left for Paris in 1848. Her mother, Sophie Olympe Doudeuil, was also from a working-class family. She lived in concubinage with a carver, Aubert, from 1864. She was convicted to a year of imprisonment for theft in 1867. In 1870, she followed her companion, a sergeant-major of the 135th bataillion, and became a cantinière. She participated in the battles of

Neuilly Neuilly (, ) is a common place name in France, deriving from the male given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well ...

, Issy, Vanves, and Levallois-Perret, where she was wounded twice. She wore a red scarf, carried a Chassepot rifle, and helped the wounded.

Trial

Suétens was one of the defendants of the trial of the "

" that began on 3 September 1871. Her lawyer was delinquent, so she was defended by a military officer, the

maréchal des logis () is a sub-officer rank used by some units of the French Armed Forces. It is traditionally a cavalry unit rank. There are three distinct ranks of ''maréchal des logis'', which are generally the equivalents of sergeant ranks (although they g ...

Bordelais: he "relied on the wisdom of the council". The Court Martial condemned her to death on 4 September 1871, along with two of her co-accused,

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 ...

and

Joséphine Marchais 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 in 1871. Arrested while carrying weapons, she was condemned to death. Her sentence ...

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

took up the defence, partly of Théophile Ferré and Louis Rossel, but also of three women: Léontine Suétens,

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 Joséphine Marchais. He considered the insurgents to be revolutionary fighters, not criminals under common law. Regarding the three women, he also raised the social question:Either the pardon commission hesitated in the face of the lack of evidence, or Hugo's intervention was decisive; the death sentences of the three women were commuted to hard labour in

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 * ...

Detention in Guyana

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 ...

in 1875, Léontine Suétens married Aïssa (ben Tafaroui) ben Tebra, who was born in

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

and lived in Saint-Maurice. In 1877, the governor of Guiana complained about Suétens and her fellow inmates, indignant that they created "perpetual embarassments" and caused complaints from prison staff. He requested from the

ministère de la Marine The Ministry of the Navy (french: Ministère de la Marine) was a section of the France, French government – apart from the Ministry of War (France), Ministry of War – that was in charge of the French navy and colonies. The ministry combined ...

"the authorization to place them in provisional freedom, as is done for black women". However, a partial amnesty was voted in in 1879, and a total amnesty for all condemned communards in 1880. Léontine Suétens died at the Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni hospital in 1891, at the age of 45. Her husband died the following year in

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic Oc ...

Legacy

Édith Thomas Édith Thomas (23 January 1909, Montrouge – 7 December 1970, Paris) was a French novelist, archivist, historian, and journalist. A bisexual pioneer of women's history, she reputedly inspired a character of the erotic novel '' Story of O''.Dor ...

, the first historian to be interested in the case of the "

", is unambiguous about the innocence of Léontine Suétens: two of the women who were put on trial "may have taken part in the fires. But certainly not Élizabeth Rétiffe, Léontine Suétens, Joséphine Marchais, Eulalie Papavoine, or Aurore Machu - all of whom were condemned as "pétroleuses", because someone had to be guilty and no one could be found." Ludivine Bantigny paid homage to her in a correspondence "beyond time" in a chapter of ''Les Réprouvées.''

References

Bibliography

* * * * . Women in war Deaths in French Guiana 1891 deaths 1846 births Communards People deported to French Guiana {{DEFAULTSORT:Suétens, Léontine