Adolphe Thiers in the context of "Government of National Defense"

The Paris Commune (French: Commune de Paris, pronounced [kɔ.myn də pa.ʁi]) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended Paris, and working class radicalism grew among its soldiers. Following the establishment of the French Third Republic in September 1870 (under French chief-executive Adolphe Thiers from February 1871) and the complete defeat of the French Army by the Germans by March 1871, soldiers of the National Guard seized control of the city on 18 March. The Communards killed two French Army generals and refused to accept the authority of the Third Republic; instead, the radicals set about establishing their own independent government.

The Commune governed Paris for two months, promoting policies that tended toward a progressive, anti-religious system, which was an eclectic mix of many 19th-century schools of thought. These policies included the separation of church and state, self-policing, the remission of rent, the abolition of child labor, and the right of employees to take over an enterprise deserted by its owner. The Commune closed all Catholic churches and schools in Paris. Feminist, communist, old-style social democracy (a mix of reformism and revolutionism), and anarchist/Proudhonist currents, among other socialist types, played important roles in the Commune.

The Moderates or Moderate Republicans (French: Républicains modérés), pejoratively labeled Opportunist Republicans (Républicains opportunistes), was a French political group active in the late 19th century during the Third French Republic. The leaders of the group included Adolphe Thiers, Jules Ferry, Jules Grévy, Henri Wallon and René Waldeck-Rousseau.

Although described as centre-left and considered leftist at the time, the Moderate Republicans were ideologically a centre-right political party.

The Communards (French: [kɔmynaʁ]) were members and supporters of the short-lived 1871 Communes in France formed in the wake of the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War.

After the suppression of the Paris Commune by the French Army in May 1871, 43,000 Communards were taken prisoner, and 6,500 to 7,500 fled abroad. The number of Communard soldiers killed in combat or executed afterwards during the week has long been disputed—Prosper-Olivier Lissagaray put the number at 20,000, while estimates by more recent historians put the probable number between 10,000 and 15,000. 7,500 were jailed or deported under arrangements which continued until a general amnesty during the 1880s; this action by Adolphe Thiers forestalled the proto-communist movement in the French Third Republic (1871–1940).

A crowned republic, also known as a monarchical republic, is a system of monarchy where the monarch's role is almost entirely ceremonial and where nearly all of the royal prerogatives are exercised in such a way that the monarch personally has little power over executive and constitutional issues. The term "crowned republic" has been used by a small number of authors (below) to informally describe governments such as Australia and the United Kingdom, although these countries are usually classed as constitutional monarchies. The term may also refer to historical republics that had a doge as their head of state, most particularly Venice and Genoa, and is sometimes used to describe the current Republic of San Marino.

The terms monarchical republic and presidential monarchism have also been used to refer to some contemporary presidential republics that have undergone a partial 're-monarchisation' or to presidents who act as "disguised monarchs", especially in Africa.

Legislative elections were held in France on 8 February 1871 to elect the first legislature of the Third French Republic, the unicameral National Assembly. The elections were held during a situation of crisis in the country, as following the Franco-Prussian War, 43 departments were occupied by Prussian forces. As a result, all public meetings were outlawed and Paris was the only city where an election campaign took place.

The electoral law allowed candidates to run in more than one seat at a time. As a result, several candidates were elected in more than one seat, with Adolphe Thiers elected in 86 constituencies. By-elections were subsequently held on 2 July to elect representatives for the 114 vacant seats.