1871 - France loses the Franco-Prussian War, and is humiliated in Europe by the Germans. The French vow revenge.
March 18, 1871 - President Adolphe Theirs sends troops into Paris to take down cannons on the hills of Montmartre. Parisians rebel and hang Theirs' generals, and keep their cannons. Theirs prepares to attack; he receives help from the Germans, who occupied Paris.
March 28, 1871 - Paris elects a revolutionary government, the Paris Commune, to defy Theirs and his pro-German government. The Commune takes hostages and the people build barricades.
May 21, 1871 - "Civil war" erupts in the streets of Paris between Theirs and the Commune. House-to-house fighting ensues. Whole areas of the city are destroyed. (PoD) - The Commune wins the fighting and stage a coup d'etat against the Theirs government. The Republic is toppled, and a socialist state is formed.