Troops fire on May Day demonstration at Fourmies
- When
- 1891
- Where
- Fourmies, Nord department
- Episodes
- 1
On 1 May 1891, government troops fired on a peaceful demonstration of workers in Fourmies, France, who were demanding an eight-hour workday. The incident resulted in the deaths of nine people, including two children, and injuries to thirty-five others.
Episodes
Background and detail
Background. Fourmies, located in the French Nord department, was an industrial center in 1891 with 37 silk and wool mills. The population of 15,000 was predominantly composed of factory workers. This demographic context contributed to the mobilization for labor rights, specifically the demand for an eight-hour workday, which formed the basis of the demonstration.
The Shooting. During the demonstration, workers chanted "C'est les huit heures qu'il nous faut !" (it's the eight-hour day we need). Government troops opened fire on the peaceful crowd. The action resulted in nine fatalities, including two children, and thirty-five injuries. The event is historically recorded as the Fourmies massacre.
People involved
- Government troops · Perpetrators
- Demonstrating workers · Victims
- Children · Victims
Sources
- Fourmies massacre Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-01
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.