Antoine Perrare

Antoine Perrare (24 January 1841 – 5 March 1912) (also known as Chicago) was a French mechanic, Communard, and anarchist. He is known for his actions during the Commune of Lyon, his subsequent integration into the anarchist movement in Switzerland and France, and for being one of the first to embrace anarcho-communism.

Born in the Rhône department, Perrare moved to Lyon, where he was a well-regarded worker and ran a wine shop that became a gathering place for the city's revolutionaries. In 1871, he participated in the Commune of Lyon and was elected by the Lyonnaise population to represent them as a delegate to the Provisional Commission, where he held a seat. Following the defeat of the Communes in France, he managed to flee and settle in Geneva while the French justice system sentenced him to deportation. He first integrated into the Marxist circles of Geneva and then, in 1872, joined the anarchist movement during the ongoing schism between the two groups. He then became a notable figure in the Anti-authoritarian International, the anarchist organization that succeeded the First International. The anarchist was involved as a speaker in many meetings, ran a mechanic's workshop where he only hired French political refugees, and was in charge of the organization's propaganda section—he also associated with Peter Kropotkin and Jean Grave.

Expelled from Geneva, he returned to France after eighteen years in exile, settling in Lyon, Paris, Meurthe-et-Moselle, and then Nice. During these travels, Perrare never stopped advocating for anarchism and continued his activism—he was also a proponent of using propaganda by the deed. He died in Nice on 5 March 1912.

After his death, the anarchist press honored him by paying tribute to the constancy of his anarchism, which he professed until his last breath. His police mugshot is part of the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET).

Biography Birth and early life Antoine Perrare was born on 24 January 1841, in Saint-Didier-sur-Beaujeu, in the Rhône department.

Commune of Lyon and the First International Perrare was known as a skilled worker and lived in Lyon from at least the 1860s to the 1870s, on Rue Bougeaud.

Legacy Anarchist circles During his lifetime, Perrare was nicknamed 'Chicago' in the anarchist circles in which he was involved.