194 years ago today, on November 21, 1831 (October 18, 1831), the French textile workers in Lyon staged an uprising. The earliest armed uprising of the working class in history On November 21, 1831, the French textile workers in Lyon (Lyon) is a famous silk-producing city in France and the center of the French textile industry. From the 16th century, the silk produced in Lyon was sold well in Europe. In the textile workshops of Lyon, the workers were brutally exploited, working 15 to 16 hours a day, and the daily wage could only buy a pound of bread, making it difficult to maintain a minimum standard of living. As for the situation of women workers and child laborers, it is even more tragic and bleak. Therefore, the textile workers who worked in the textile workshops were pale and scrawny. They lived in dilapidated houses that were sheltered from the wind and rain, and many workers did not even have such houses, so they had to sleep on the streets or under the machines. This life drove the workers to a corner, and they began to resist. At that time, the most urgent demand of the workers was to increase wages. In October 1831, the workers' representatives proposed a draft wage standard to be discussed together with the capitalists. However, the capitalists not only ignored it, but stopped ordering goods from the handicrafts, leaving the workers facing the threat of unemployment and hunger. On the day of the meeting, the capitalists tried their best to bargain, while the workers' representatives were confident and unyielding. While the two sides were arguing fiercely, there was a loud roar and singing from outside. It turned out that 6,000 textile workers had stopped working and lined up in front of the provincial government to demonstrate. They sang the battle song "Marseillaise" and came to the conference hall majestically. In a panic, the capitalists took a delaying tactic, and the wage standard agreement was passed late that night. As soon as the news of the victory came out, the whole working area of Lyon was immediately immersed in a joyous atmosphere. The workers cheered for the initial victory of the struggle. However, the capitalists were not content to admit defeat. They sent people to complain to the prime minister of the bourgeois government against the wage standard agreement. The government immediately rejected the agreement at the request of the manufacturers, and was ready to send the military and police to suppress the workers by force. Three weeks later, the wages are still the same. The hard-line attitude of the bourgeoisie gave the workers a premonition that a fierce battle was about to begin, and they immediately took action. On the morning of November 21st, the workers went on strike. A procession of 2,000 people set off from the workers' district and headed straight for the city center. By this time, the city gate leading to the workers' district of Lyon was heavily guarded. The soldiers and police officers, armed with sabers and loaded with live ammunition, stood at the city gate with murderous faces. Apparently they had been ordered to shoot at the marchers who rushed into the city. The marchers walked to the city gate and were blocked by the army, with black guns aimed at the breasts of the workers. Just as the workers were about to break through the interception of the military and police, the military and police fired at the demonstrators, angering the workers. The workers shouted and rushed at the enemy. Without guns, they waved their sticks and waist knives as weapons; some picked up stones, some raised their fists... In a moment, they built barricades in the open space outside the city gate, and fired at the enemy with the weapons they had won. The government troops were suddenly confused. The sound of gunfire reached the workers' area, and the people here immediately boiled over. They swarmed into the arms shop, grabbed the guns, ammunition, and swords inside, and rushed to the city gate together. The strength of the workers strengthened. They launched a fierce attack on the government troops, and finally broke into the city. The workers fought more and more bravely, taking street after street, house after house, and advancing towards the city hall from all sides. In the afternoon, the barricades of the insurgents also appeared around the town hall. At one of the sturdy barricades, a large banner was raised and fluttered in the wind, with two bold lines written on it: "Do not live by labor, or die by battle!" The insurgent workers of Lyon began to occupy the whole city of Lyon on November 23, forming a workers' committee, announcing the abolition of taxes and the implementation of the wage standard agreement. The committee also issued a letter to the citizens. Since the workers had not completely destroyed the idea of bourgeois government at that time, their political proposition was to demand democratic elections and to elect their representatives to the government. The governors and officials continued to issue orders and manage the municipalities. The workers' leaders even invited the police chief to participate in their debates. They were completely unwary of government officials. The bourgeois government took advantage of the paralysis of the Lyon workers and mobilized a large army. On December 1, 60,000 government troops surrounded the city of Lyon. On the third day, the uprising, which was in a passive situation, was brutally suppressed. About 600 people were killed or wounded in the uprising. In April 1834, the Lyon workers launched a second armed uprising. This uprising was of a distinctly political nature, and the workers demanded the establishment of a democratic republic. The insurgents built barricades, held high the banner of battle, and engaged in six days of street battles with the army and police with fearless heroism. Finally, due to the disparity of strength, the uprising was thwarted again. About 300 people died in the uprising. The Lyon workers' uprising took place at the height of the French revolution. The uprising of the workers of Lyon showed the great power of the proletariat and showed that the working class had independently entered the political arena. This uprising, after three days of heroic fighting, the workers defeated the government army and occupied the city of Lyon for a time. However, due to the lack of strong organization of the uprising workers in Lyon and the guidance of revolutionary theory, the uprising unfortunately ended in failure under the bloody suppression of the bourgeois government. Lyon