Place Paul Verlaine, in front of the entrance to the small Henri Rousselle square and opposite Rue Jean-Marie Jego.

A tribute to Paul Verlaine

The choice of this location may seem surprising, but it would be unfair to forget that Verlaine actively supported the Commune, serving as a leading figure in its press office.

He was a friend of key Communards such as Raoul Rigault, the public prosecutor, Andrieu and Charles Delescluze of the Executive Committee, and Léo Meillet of the Justice Committee. Louise Michel attended his wedding in August 1870.

In 1872, in exile in London, he completed his poem “Les Vaincus” with new stanzas recounting his personal experience. In 1886 he wrote “Ballade en l’honneur de Louise Michel”.

OF THE BATTLE:
Come on, rise up! Come on, come on! Rise up, rise up!
Enough of this shame and truce!
To battle, to battle! For our boiling
blood Needs to steam upon the tips of our swords!

ON DEFEAT:
The vanquished said to one another in the night of their prisons:
They have chained us, but we still live.
Whilst the shackles bend our shoulders,
In our veins the blood flows, a precious treasure.

ON THE HOPE OF REVENGE
You shall die by our hands, mark my words, if fortune
is on our side. You shall die, begging for mercy, by our hands.
Justice demands it first, then vengeance,
Then the urgent need for a better tomorrow.

ON THE HOPE OF A NEW AND FINAL REVOLUTION
And battle once more! And victory perhaps,
But a terrible battle and a merciless triumph,
And as this time Justice shall reign supreme,
This time shall be the last, truly!