Marie Ferré (1845–1882) was a French activist involved in the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...

Biography

Marie Ferré was born in the

1st arrondissement of Paris The 1st arrondissement of Paris (''Ier arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is colloquially referred to as ''le premier'' (the first). I ...

on 30 April 1845, the daughter of Laurent Ferré and Marie Rivière; and the elder sister of Hippolyte and

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 ...

. Her brothers were participants in the

of 1871. During the suppression of the Commune, the French authorities searched the Ferré home in

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 ...

, looking for Théophile. They instead found Marie Ferré, in bed and very ill, being cared for by her mother. When they threatened to arrest Marie, which could have killed her, her mother gave up Théophile's location at rue Saint-Saveur. He was arrested and later executed. After a week in police custody, Marie Ferré was released, while her mother was committed to a

mental asylum The lunatic asylum, insane asylum or mental asylum was an institution where people with mental illness were confined. It was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. Modern psychiatric hospitals evolved from and eventually replace ...

, where she died. Laurent Ferré was imprisoned in Fouras and Hippolyte was imprisoned in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

. With her entire family dead or interned, Ferré dedicated herself to helping revolutionary prisoners, working both days and nights in order to send money to imprisoned Communards. She later went into exile in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where she became more popular among French exiles than her friend

Louise Michel Louise Michel (; 29 May 1830 – 9 January 1905) was a teacher and prominent figure during the Paris Commune. Following her penal transportation to New Caledonia she began to embrace anarchism, and upon her return to France she emerged as an im ...

. When Michel was deported to

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

, Ferré cared for Michel's mother. After a political amnesty was proclaimed, in November 1880, Ferré and greeted Michel at

Gare Saint-Lazare The Gare Saint-Lazare (; ), officially Paris Saint Lazare, is one of the seven large mainline List of Paris railway stations, railway station terminals in Paris, France. It was the first railway station built in Paris, opening in 1837. It mostly ...

upon her return from exile. In July 1881, Ferré and Michel organised the re-burial of Théophile's remains in the

Levallois-Perret Cemetery The Levallois-Perret Cemetery (, also known simply as ''Cimetière de Levallois'') is a cemetery in the Communes of France, commune of Levallois-Perret in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. Strictly speaking it is just outside Paris in the ...

; and in January 1882, they participated in a demonstration on the first anniversary of

Louis Auguste Blanqui Louis Auguste Blanqui (; 8 February 1805 – 1 January 1881) was a French socialist, political philosopher and political activist, notable for his revolutionary theory of Blanquism. Biography Early life, political activity and first impris ...

's death. Michel was arrested, and Marie Ferré fell ill. Sick with

cardiovascular disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina, heart attack), heart failure, hypertensive heart disease, rheumati ...

, Marie Ferré died in the

9th arrondissement of Paris The 9th arrondissement of Paris (''IXe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as (; "ninth"). The arrondissement, called Opéra, is located on the right bank of th ...

on 24 February 1882. Her body was covered with Louise Michel's red shawl and buried on 26 February in the Levallois-Perret Cemetery, alongside her brother Théophile and their mother. Her funeral was attended by 1,500 people, including her father Laurent, brother Hippolyte, and her friends Louise Michel and Camille Bias, who together led the funeral procession. In an obituary published the following month in ', she was remembered as "a firmly convinced, energetic and devoted revolutionary howas always to be found in the front row during a demonstration or revolutionary movement". Louise Michel's revolutionary group was renamed in honour of Ferré.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferre, Marie 1845 births 1882 deaths Communards