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 (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...

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, also spelled Guyanas or Guayanas, are a geographical region in north-eastern South America. Strictly, the term refers to the three Guianas: Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, formerly British, Dutch, and French Guiana respectiv ...

Biography

Joséphine Marchais was born 13 April 1837 in

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher Departments of France, department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the mos ...

Loir-et-Cher Loir-et-Cher (, ) is a Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region of France. It is named after two rivers which run through it, the Loir in its northern part and the Cher (river), Cher in its southern 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 A forlorn hope is a band of soldiers or other combatants chosen to take the vanguard in a military operation, such as a suicidal assault through the breach of a defended position, or the first men to climb a scaling ladder against a defended f ...

, 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 (, ), also Tyrolese hat, 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 essential and distinctive el ...

; 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, Eulalie Papavoine and Léontine Suétens.. 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 Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

, 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 (, ; ) 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 of the Arrondissement ...

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 People deported to French Guiana