Ère des attentats

The Ère des attentats (English: Era of Attacks), or the French anarchist campaign of attacks from 1892 to 1894, was a period in the history of France and the broader history of propaganda of the deed (1880–1914), marked by a significant wave of political violence—both from the French authorities and anarchist terrorists. Its chronological boundaries extend from the Saint-Germain bombing (11 March 1892) to the massacre of the anarchist convicts (22 October 1894). During this period, the French press largely shaped political discourse and public opinion, presenting these acts as interconnected events forming a progressive logic rather than isolated incidents.

In response to the significant repression anarchists had suffered in France since the Paris Commune (1871), a number of them came to consider terrorism as a legitimate means of avenging this repression, targeting symbols of power, state institutions, and emblematic places of bourgeois life. During the first part of the period, Ravachol, Rosalie Soubère, and other anarchist activists engaged in a series of bombings targeting those responsible for judicial persecution against anarchists—although they killed no one, Ravachol was sentenced to death, becoming a martyr for the anarchist cause.

In response to these developments, the French state engaged in increasingly harsh repressive policies, which generally proved ineffective and only further radicalised anarchists in France. After the National Assembly bombing (9 December 1893), a major crackdown began, leading to the passing of the first two lois scélérates and the start of widespread repression of January and February 1894. This wave of repression triggered a new series of attacks and, in February 1894, Émile Henry carried out the Café Terminus bombing, one of the first acts of indiscriminate terrorism and a significant event in the emergence of modern terrorism. A few months later, Sante Caserio committed the last attack of the period by assassinating one of the main figures behind the repressive policies, the president of the Republic, Sadi Carnot, whom he stabbed to death in Lyon. The period ended in October 1894, when the French authorities organised the massacre of a part the anarchist convicts deported to the French Guiana penal colony.

The Ère des attentats had broader ramifications. It influenced anarchists in France, who began turning toward new forms of organisation such as anarcho-syndicalism. It also led France to establish stronger and increasingly coordinated repressive methods in cooperation with other European powers. The era significantly impacted the arts, especially French literature, inspiring the creation of new literary figures such as Fantômas. Lastly, its influence on the emergence and integration of terrorism into the modern world should not be underestimated.