Editing Paris Commune (section)

== Academic dispute over Thiers' handling of the crisis ==
Historian [[J.P.T. Bury]] considers that Thiers tackled the crisis in a ruthless but successful way, thus giving a solid base to the [[French Third Republic|Third Republic]]. As he put it, "the exile of so many extremists enabled the new Republic to [...] develop in a peaceful and orderly fashion.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bury |first=J.P.T. |title=France, 1814–1940 |edition =6th|date=2003 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0415316002 |pages=108}}</ref>"

This view is shared by French historian [[Alain Plessis]], who writes that "the crushing of the communards [...] was ultimately to facilitate the advent of the Third Republic.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Plessis |first=Alain |title=The Rise and Fall of the Second Empire, 1852–1871 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=1985 |isbn=9780521358569 |pages=173}}</ref>"

For [[David Thomson (historian)|David Thomson]], Thiers had no other option to restore the unity of a country fractured by an overwhelming defeat and innumerable factions.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Morris |first1=T. |title=Europe 1870–1991 |last2=Murphy |first2=D. |publisher=Collins Educational |year=2000 |isbn=0003271331 |pages=95}}</ref>

Another French historian, Paul Lidsky, argues that Thiers felt urged by mainstream newspapers and leading intellectuals to take decisive action against 'the social and democratic vermin' ([[Le Figaro]]), 'those abominable ruffians' ([[Countess of Ségur]]).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lidsky |first=Paul |title=Les écrivains contre la Commune |publisher=François Maspéro |year=1982 |isbn=9782707113412 |location=Paris |pages=72 |language=fr |trans-title=Writers against the Commune}}</ref>

Even a moderate daily newspaper like ''{{lang|fr|le Drapeau tricolore}}'' wrote, "even though we were to drown this uprising in blood, were we to bury it under the ruins of the burning city, there would be no room for compromise.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017 |title=La responsabilité de la presse dans la répression de la Commune de Paris |trans-title=The responsibility of the press in the repression of the Paris Commune |url=https://lvsl.fr/responsabilite-de-presse-repression-de-commune-de-paris/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522201025/https://lvsl.fr/responsabilite-de-presse-repression-de-commune-de-paris/ |archive-date=22 May 2020 |access-date=6 May 2020 |website=Le vent se lève |language=fr}}</ref>"

[[Theodore Zeldin]] in ''France 1848–1945, vol.I'' goes so far as to say Thiers deliberately ordered Paris to be evacuated in order to incite part of the population to rise up and eventually have a pretext for crushing Paris as a rebellious force.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Morris |first1=T. |title=Europe, 1870–1991 |last2=Murphy |first2=D. |publisher=[[HarperCollins|Collins]] |year=2000 |isbn=0003271331 |pages=95}}</ref>