Théophile Ferré was a leader of the Paris Commune who was executed by the French government on this day in 1871. Ferré personally authorized the execution of the archbishop of Paris and was the first of 25 Communards to be executed.

Little is known about Ferré's early life, before his participation in the Paris Commune. After Paris was seized by revolutionaries in March 1871, Ferré served on the Commune's Committee of Public Safety, a body given extensive powers to hunt down enemies of the Commune.

On April 5th, the Commune passed a decree that authorized the arrest of any person thought to be loyal to the French government in Versailles, to be held as hostages. Prominent figures arrested included a Catholic priest Georges Darboy and the archbishop of Paris. The Commune hoped to exchange their hostages for Louis-Auguste Blanqui, a revolutionary and honorary President of the Commune, imprisoned by the state.

Following the events of the "Bloody Week", in which the French government summarily executed many suspected Communards, Ferré authorized the execution of several hostages, including Darboy and the archbishop.

After the resistance of the Commune collapsed, Ferré was captured by the army, tried by a military court, and sentenced to death. On November 28th, 1871, he was shot at Satory, an army camp southwest of Versailles. He was the first of twenty-five Communards to be executed for their role in the Paris Commune.

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  • hexaflexagonbear [he/him]
    ·
    5 days ago

    Anyone else have an issue where they can speak two languages fluently but can’t translate between them for shit? Like if I'm remembering a story in one language but telling it in the other my thoughts just fall apart, more so than when I’m telling a story in other contexts anyway.

    • rhubarb [he/him]
      ·
      5 days ago

      Yeah, translation is definitely a skill of its own independent of just speaking two languages fluently. I have a theory that interpreters must have made some kind of a deal with a devil to be able to do that.

      • hexaflexagonbear [he/him]
        ·
        5 days ago

        I start second guessing reality the second I hit a word that's the same in both languages.

      • Frank [he/him, he/him]
        ·
        4 days ago

        People who can do simultaenious translation like for the un are straight up wizards. That's magic. It's occult knowledge. I don't know how they do it but i am certain it involves lots of candles and wearing robes.

      • PointAndClique [they/them]
        ·
        5 days ago

        that interpreters must have made some kind of a deal with a devil to be able to do that

        Very efficient note taking (for consecutive interp) and good short term recall (for both simultaneous and consecutive). Then practice the above skills. For formal and specialised events, interpeters will often also do a lot of advanced prep to learn the subject matter areas and key terms.

    • GalaxyBrain [they/them]
      ·
      5 days ago

      French immersion made me really good at this when I has to do stuff like social studies in French. I'd write the best damn essay ever in English and then my second draft would be the french translation cause I'm a fucking Gifted Kid at English and Social Studies and like hell I was gonna let my terrible French education get in the way

    • Frank [he/him, he/him]
      ·
      4 days ago

      I think folks have the idea that all language tasks are the same task but they really are all quite distinct. Reading, writing, speaking, listening, interpretting, transliteration, all of them are distinct tasks that require practice and people have more or less aptitude for.