The Fusillade de Fourmies was an event which happened on 1 May 1891 in Fourmies, in the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

Nord department. Government troops fired on a peaceful demonstration of workers demanding an eight-hour workday. The troops' action against the workers, claiming "C'est les huit heures qu'il nous faut !" (it's the

eight-hour day The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses of working time. The modern movement originated i ...

we need), killed nine people, including two children, and injured 35 people.

Context

Fourmies was a small town of 2000 people at the beginning of the 19th century, but it had experienced rapid industrial industrial growth and demographic growth because of the

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of textiles: yarn, cloth and clothing. Industry process Cotton manufacturing Cotton is the world's most important natural fibre. In the year 2007, th ...

. In 1891, it had 37 silk and wool mills, and 15 000 people, in majority factory workers. In the factories, workers worked for 12 hours a day, and six days a week. Their salaries were particularly low. Starting in 1885, the textile industry in the

Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

began to experience difficulties. These difficulties had direct repercussions for the workers, with unemployment and salary reductions when food and lodging expenses were rising.

History

Call to strike

The

right to strike Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike in British English, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became c ...

was allowed in France since The

Ollivier law The Ollivier law (Loi Ollivier) was a French law, voted in 25 May 1864, which legalized the right to strike which was not allowed in France since 1791. However it remained limited and still maintained the concept of "impeding the free exercise of em ...

on 25 May 1864, but the

Trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s were allowed only since the Waldeck-Rousseau law on 21 March 1884.

Bibliography

* André Pierrard, Jean-Louis Chappat, ''La Fusillade de Fourmies : Premier mai 1891'', Maxima, Paris, 1991 * Madeleine Rebérioux, ''Fourmies et les Premier mai'', Fourmies Colloquium 1891/1991 (1991), Éditions de l'Atelier, 1994, * Odette Hardy-Hémery, ''L'envers d'une fusillade : Fourmies, 1er mai 1891'', L'Harmattan, coll. « Collection Chemins de la mémoire », 2000 * Justinien Raymond, ''Hippolyte Culine'', Dictionnaire biographique, mouvement ouvrier, mouvement social, « Le Maitron », 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fusillade de Fourmies 1891 in France Mass murder in 1891 May 1891 May Day protests Labor disputes in France 1891 labor disputes and strikes 19th-century mass murder in France Violence against protesters Textile and clothing strikes Military history of Nord (French department) Labor history of France Mass shootings in France Protest-related deaths Massacres committed by France Crime in Hauts-de-France 19th-century military history of France