Madeleine bombing

The Madeleine bombing was a bomb attack carried out on 15 March 1894 by the anarchist militant Désiré Pauwels at the Madeleine church, facing the French National Assembly in Paris. The attack occurred during the latter half of the Era of Attacks (1892–1894) and aimed to strike a symbol of the Catholic Church and one of the principal churches of the Parisian bourgeoisie.

Pauwels arrived at the church but detonated his bomb prematurely at the entrance before he could position it. He died shortly afterward from a gunshot wound to the head, possibly self-inflicted as he would have attempted suicide to avoid capture by police. No other casualties or injuries were reported, though the church sustained damage and required restoration.

This bombing, along with other attacks during the Era of Attacks, marked an early shift in terrorist strategy: instead of targeting specific individuals, it focused on symbolic locations—in this case, the Madeleine church as a stand-in for a precise human target. This shift became a hallmark of modern terrorism but was poorly understood by contemporary media, which dismissed the attack as a senseless act without grasping its ideological motivations. The French press reacted with disgust and scorn, ignoring Pauwels' courage or resolve.

The incident also highlights the growing role of forensic science in criminal investigations. Pauwels’ body was so severely disfigured and mutilated by the explosion that it became unrecognizable, necessitating identification by forensic experts—who successfully confirmed his identity.