the people seize power and begin to talk ('from the daguerreotype to 'the selfie')

horsemouth loves the smell of coffee in the morning (it smells like victory). 

so it is day two of the commune (1871). the canons have been seized but the  mutinous national guardsman interviewed above is right they should have pressed home their advantage and marched immediately to take versailles. of course this is one of those 'amateur cast re-enacting political events' things that horsemouth loves. the people seize power and begin to talk. la commune (2000). directed by peter watkins.

there is (of course) a purpose to this - to criticise the modern 'mass' media (as explicator of the action) that was not present to such an extent in the events of the commune. there were (granted) workers' newspapers, billposters etc. there is a reporter from the revived  le père duchesne (a radical newspaper of the time named after a folk-character) wandering around in the drama. 

horsemouth has some books but neither are from the right period (the right revolution or the right parisian commune) - the sans culottes by albert soboul (the popular movement and the revolutionary government 1793- 1794) and la presse ouvrière (1819-1850) - there are a few notes in this book that horsemouth hadn't opened (it is in french, which he reads only with the greatest difficulty and reluctance). 

there are discussions of the paris commune in the goncourt journals and in zola's la débâcle (he was there at the end as  as a journalist for le sémaphore de marseille). none of the fine literary gentlemen are in favour of the commune.  

edmond de goncourt writes this on sunday 19th march 1871 (it is interesting that the days of the week match up between our years 1871-2023).

'in the train, people around me were saying that the army was retiring towards versailles and that paris was in the grip of insurrection... 

above the hotel de ville , a red flag was flying and down below, the square was swarming with an armed mob behind three guns...'

meanwhile 'from the daguerreotype to 'the selfie' a catalogue found on a walk (and rained on so now drying out). a catalogue from a show at the ICPNA in lima (miraflores) from back in 2016. people pose in their finery (mostly). 

yesterday horsemouth went round a friend's flat for lunch (and delicious it was too) and then a walk round victoria park.  it was good to catch up. today his friend is off to their busy social whirl, horsemouth will probably be wandering about the marshes. friday he went for a wander with TG.