Memories of the Paris Commune in Belleville since the 1980s: Folklorization and New Forms of Mobilization in a Transforming Quartier

Interrogating the recent upsurge of interest in the history and memory of the Paris Commune, this article examines the evolution of constructed commemoration by municipalities and associations in Belleville, a northeastern neighborhood of Paris, where the celebration of the 140th anniversary of the Commune in 2011 was particularly prominent. In order to elucidate the question of how history contributes to the rooting of collective memory in local identity, the article explores the links between political, urban and social changes and memorial processes. It demonstrates that the memory of the Commune evolved from a working-class and militant to a more folkloric memory, thus reflecting the social evolution of Belleville itself.