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Cover of the
Petit Parisien on 17 May 1891 | |
Date | 1 May 1891 |
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Location | Fourmies, Nord, France |
Participants | French citizens |
The Fusillade de Fourmies is an event which happened on 1 May 1891 in Fourmies, in the French Nord department. This day, the troop fired on a peaceful demonstration of workers claiming "C'est les huit heures qu'il nous faut !" (it's the eight-hour day we need), killing nine people and injuring 35 others. [1]
Fourmies was a small town of 2000 people at the beginning of the 19th century, but it had an important industrial growth because of the textile industry. [2] In 1891, it had 37 silk and wool mills, and 15 000 people, in majority factory workers.[ citation needed]
In the factories, workers worked for 12 hours a day, and six days a week. Their salaries were particularly low. [3]
Starting in 1885, the textile industry in the Nord began to experience difficulties. [3] These difficulties had direct repercussions on workers, with unemployment and salary reductions when food and lodging expenses were rising. [4]
The right to strike was allowed in France since The Ollivier law on 25 May 1864, [5] but the Trade unions were allowed only since the Waldeck-Rousseau law on 21 March 1884. [6]