Passage Barrault

Was it bravery? Or perhaps desperation that fueled Jean-Pierre Rouillac’s actions at Passage Barrault? This steep, cobbled passage, tucked away in the Butte-aux-Cailles district, witnessed a dramatic episode during the Paris Commune of 1871. Imagine the scene: barricades hastily erected by the Communards, defending their short-lived revolutionary government against the approaching Versaillais troops. Passage Barrault was on the frontline, and its residents caught in the crossfire. One resident, a wealthy chemist named Dubois, openly mocked the Communards, predicting their defeat. His taunts, fueled by his resentment towards the Commune’s decree that waived rent payments, enraged the young fighters. The situation escalated when Dubois threw acid at the Communards, severely injuring three of them. In the fray, he also struck a young man, the 19-year-old Rouillac. Dubois then brandished a revolver, but before he could fire, shots rang out. Dubois fell, fatally wounded. Rouillac, though initially accused of Dubois’s death, maintained his innocence, claiming he was elsewhere during the incident. But accusations, fueled by dubious testimonies, persisted. He was eventually convicted and sentenced to death, not for Dubois’s murder, which remained unsolved, but for his alleged involvement in other acts of violence during the Commune. On July 6, 1872, at the young age of twenty, Rouillac met his fate before a firing squad. The dramatic events at Passage Barrault serve as a stark reminder of the chaos and brutality that gripped Paris during the Commune, a time when political divisions ran deep, often with tragic consequences.