Study this source. Source B 'The streets of Paris have become a battleground once more. Workers who built the barricades in February to overthrow King Louis...

Source analysis

Source B is a French newspaper report on the June Days uprising in Paris, June 1848. It describes workers who overthrew King Louis Philippe in February now fighting against the republic they helped create. The report highlights the closure of the national workshops (which had employed over 100,000 poor Parisians) as the trigger, and records the brutal suppression: over 3,000 killed and 15,000 arrested in three days under General Cavaignac's emergency powers. The source's message is that the revolution had turned against the people who made it possible, exposing a deep division between middle-class republicans and working-class radicals.

Contextual knowledge

The February 1848 revolution had overthrown King Louis Philippe and established the Second Republic. However, the provisional government was divided between moderate republicans who wanted political reform (universal male suffrage, press freedom) and socialists who demanded economic change (the 'right to work'). The national workshops were established as a concession to workers but became unsustainable, employing over 100,000 in largely unproductive work. Their closure in June provoked the uprising. The use of General Cavaignac and military force against Parisian workers showed the new republic prioritising order over social justice. The June Days marked the collapse of revolutionary unity and paved the way for Louis Napoleon Bonaparte's election as president in December 1848, and his eventual seizure of dictatorial power as Napoleon III in 1852.

Mark scheme (Levels of Response) [7 marks]

• Level 1 [1-3 marks]: Simple paraphrase. For example, 'The message is that there was fighting in Paris.' No analysis of the deeper meaning.
• Level 2 [4-5 marks]: Identifies the message with source details. The message is that the revolution had betrayed the workers, with the republic using military force against the very people who created it. Uses specific details (national workshops, 3,000 killed, Cavaignac's emergency powers) to support the interpretation.
• Level 3 [6-7 marks]: Explains the message using source details AND contextual knowledge. Places the June Days in the context of the February revolution and the division between moderate and radical republicans. Uses knowledge of Louis Napoleon's subsequent rise to power to show how the collapse of revolutionary unity had lasting consequences. Recognises that the source reveals the moment when class conflict replaced revolutionary solidarity.

Exam reminder: The most effective 'message' answers identify not just what happened but what the source is saying about why it happened. Here, the message is about betrayal, class division, and the collapse of revolutionary ideals, not just about violence in Paris.