Editing Paris Commune (section)

=== Adolphe Thiers; parliamentary elections of 1871 ===
{{See also|French legislative election, February 1871}}
[[File:Adolphe Thiers Nadar 2.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Adolphe Thiers]], the chief executive of the French Government during the Commune]]

The national government in Bordeaux called for national elections at the end of January, held just ten days later on 8 February. Most electors in France were rural, Catholic and conservative, and this was reflected in the results; of the 645 deputies assembled in [[Bordeaux]] on February, about 400 favoured a constitutional monarchy under either [[Henri, Count of Chambord]] (grandson of [[Charles X of France|Charles X]]) or [[Prince Philippe, Count of Paris]] (grandson of [[Louis Philippe]]).{{sfn|Milza|2009b|pp=420–421}}

Of the 200 republicans in the new parliament, 80 were former [[Orléanists]] (Philippe's supporters) and moderately conservative. They were led by Adolphe Thiers, who was elected in 26 departments, the most of any candidate. There were an equal number of more radical republicans, including Jules Favre and [[Jules Ferry]], who wanted a republic without a monarch, and who felt that signing the peace treaty was unavoidable. Finally, on the extreme left, there were the radical republicans and socialists, a group that included [[Louis Blanc]], [[Léon Gambetta]] and [[Georges Clemenceau]]. This group was dominant in Paris, where they won 37 of the 42 seats.{{sfn|Milza|2009b|p=421}}

On 17 February the new parliament elected the 74-year-old Thiers as chief executive of the [[French Third Republic|Third Republic]]. He was considered to be the candidate most likely to bring peace and to restore order. Long an opponent of the Prussian war, Thiers persuaded parliament that peace was necessary. He travelled to [[Palace of Versailles|Versailles]], where Bismarck and the [[William I, German Emperor|German Emperor]] were waiting, and on 24 February the armistice was signed.

[[File:Triumphal entry into Paris., by the German army 2.jpg|300px|thumb|center|Triumphal entry of German troops into Paris on 1 March 1871, after the signing of the armistice]]