Pottier, Eugène

(1816-1887)

   political figure, poet

   Born in Paris, Eugène Pottier was on the side of the insurgents during the revolution of 1848 and later would be opposed to the second empire. In 1867, he founded the Chambre syndicale des ateliers de dessin, which he affiliated with the International Association of Workers (First International). A member of the Central Republican Committee of Twenty Arrondissements of Paris, he played an active role in the Paris commune and, after Bloody Week (May 22-28, 1871), took refuge in England, then the United States, until the amnesty of 1880. upon his return to France, he collaborated on Socialiste, the newspaper of jules guesde and paul lafargue, whose efforts he also supported in the formation of the French socialist party (Parti ouvrier français). A revolutionary poet, Pottier celebrated the commune and the struggle of the proletariat (La Terrier blanche, June 1871; Le Monument des fédéres, May 1883; L'Insurgé, 1884), and is the author of the famous revolutionary and socialist hymn, "L'Internationale" (June 1871).