Thiers statue bombing

About

The Thiers statue bombing, also known as the Saint-Germain-en-Laye bombing, was an anarchist bomb attack carried out on the night of 15–16 June 1881, against the statue of Adolphe Thiers in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France. With the dozens of attacks of the Black Band the following year, it was one of the first clear propaganda of the deed attacks in France.

A Comité révolutionnaire français ('French Revolutionary Committee') placed bombs in small boxes around the statue of Adolphe Thiers – a significant political figure and responsible for the massacres of the Paris Commune ten years prior. The group also left a manifesto next to the statue. The bombs exploded but malfunctioned, merely leaving a mark on the back of the statue. One month later, several anarchists approved propaganda of the deed as a favored strategy in the London Congress.