Context Birth of the anarchist movement after the
2016 Sacramento riot, a riot and clash between anarchists and neo-Nazis In the 19th century, the development of
capitalism saw the formation of several opposing political ideologies and movements, particularly
anarchism. Anarchists advocate for the struggle against all forms of domination, among which is economic domination, with the development of capitalism. They are particularly opposed to the
State, viewed as the institution enabling the endorsement of many of these dominations through its police, army, and propaganda. They want to replace the State and capitalism by
egalitarian, voluntary,
stateless societies.
Birth and dissemination of the black flag as a symbol of the labour movement '' depicting
Louise Michel carrying the
black flag with the motto 'Bread or Death' and inciting demonstrators to loot a bakery (17 March 1883). The black flag was used by the
Canuts during their revolt in 1831, where it represented liberty, mourning, and hunger for these revolted workers. However, these workers were not anarchists in the strict sense, as the anarchist movement had not yet been constituted. This revolt ended in the brutal massacre of the revolting Canuts by
Adolphe Thiers and left a strong mark on generations of workers, particularly in Lyon and the Rhône region, where the memory of the Canuts Revolt remained vivid after its suppression. In the decades that followed, the black flag was used repeatedly in the workers' movement of the Lyon region, serving as a counterpoint to the
red flag. It was reused during the
Lyon Commune—a revolt also repressed by Adolphe Thiers—by the insurgents, a number of whom subsequently joined anarchism.
The anarchist black flag Black Band and Louise Michel In the context of the Lyon circles, the question of the black flag arose in 1881, when some of them debated whether or not to use it. The anarchist Claude Bernard, half brother of
Fanny Madignier, then advocated for its use as a symbol of mourning and memory of the Canuts Revolt and the Lyon Commune, a choice that was adopted. (1921) The following year, during the
Montceau-les-Mines troubles by the
Black Band, about a hundred kilometers north of Lyon, this organisation of anarchist miners repeatedly claimed the use of the black flag as an anarchist symbol in the Lyon newspaper, ''
L'Étendard révolutionnaire''. In their first declaration on the subject, they wrote :
Louise Michel, a notable figure in anarchist circles, who attended the Trial of the 66 and was profoundly outraged by it, then organised the
demonstration of 9 March 1883 in Paris. During this event, her group looted Parisian bakeries to protest against hunger—and she flew a black flag. It is truly from this demonstration and her actions that it became a central symbol of anarchism and, more broadly, of the workers' movement. This view is shared by the historian Félix Chartreux, who considers that it is truly from this event that it 'entered history'.Ah certainly, Mr. Attorney General, you find it strange that a woman dares to defend the black flag. Why did we shelter the demonstration under the black flag? Because this flag is the flag of strikes and it indicates that the worker has no bread. [...] The people are dying of hunger, and they do not even have the right to say that they are dying of hunger. Well, I took the black flag and went to say that the people were without work and without bread. That is my crime; judge it as you will. == Legacy ==