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, who helps with handling wa ...

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. 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-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the Bois de Boulogne, the area is composed of ...

Issy Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of the river Seine. Its citizens are called in French. It is one of Paris's entrances and is located from Notre Dame Cathedral, whic ...

Vanves Vanves () is a Communes of France, commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe and the tenth in France. History On ...

, and

Levallois-Perret Levallois-Perret () is a Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department and Île-de-France Regions of France, region of north-central France. It lies on the right bank of the Seine, some from the Kilometre z ...

, where she was wounded twice. She wore a red scarf, carried a

Chassepot The Chassepot (pronounced ; ), officially known as , was a bolt-action military breechloading rifle. It is famous for having been the arm of the French forces in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. It replaced an assortment of muzzleloading ...

rifle, and helped the wounded.

Trial

Suétens was one of the defendants of the trial of the " pétroleuses" 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 genera ...

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 and Joséphine Marchais.

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

took up the defence, partly of

Théophile Ferré Théophile Charles Gilles Ferré (6 May 1845 28 November 1871) was one of the members of the Paris Commune. He authorized the executions of Georges Darboy, the archbishop of Paris, and five other hostages, on 24 May 1871. He was captured by the ...

and

Louis Rossel Louis-Nathaniel Rossel (9 September 1844 28 November 1871) was a French army officer and a politician. On 19 March 1871, he became the only senior French officer to join up with the Paris Commune, playing an important role as Minister of War ...

, but also of three women: Léontine Suétens, Eulalie Papavoine, 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, 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 ...

Detention in Guyana

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 ...

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

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

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 () was a section of the French government – apart from the Ministry of War – that was in charge of the French navy and colonies. The ministry combined the administration of the navy, the colonies like New France an ...

"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 (; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and 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 Caye ...

Legacy

Édith Thomas Édith Thomas (23 January 1909 – 7 December 1970) 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''.Dorothy Kaufmann, ''É ...

, the first historian to be interested in the case of the " pétroleuses", 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 in France 1891 deaths 1846 births Communards People deported to French Guiana Women in 19th-century warfare {{DEFAULTSORT:Suétens, Léontine