Théophile Ferré

Who was Théophile Ferré?

Théophile Charles Gilles Ferré was one of the members of the Paris Commune, who authorized the execution of Georges Darboy, the archbishop of Paris, and five other hostages, on 24 May, 1871. He was captured by the army, tried by a military court, and was shot at Satory, an army camp southwest of Versailles. He was the first of twenty-five Commune members to be executed for their role in the Paris Commune.

Ferré was condemned to death for having ordered the execution of six hostages including Georges Darboy, the archbishop of Paris. Darboy, Bonjean, the priest Deguerry of the Église de la Madeleine, and Allard, Clerc, Ducoudray of the Society of Jesus were executed on May 24 of the "Semaine Sanglante" or "Bloody Week". The Archibishop and several hundred others had been arrested by the Commune in April as hostages, whom the Commune hoped to exchange for Louis-Auguste Blanqui, a revolutionary and honorary President of the Commune, who had been arrested by the French government on March 15. However, the provisional head of the French government, Adolphe Thiers refused any negotiation with the Commune for the release of hostages.