the London Congress, the "Revolutionary
International League" was established, an active intercommunication
was kept up with London, and an eager agitation was developed. In
consequence, however, of the strong opposition of the other
Socialists, this League remained weak, and scarcely numbered a hundred
members. On the other hand, Anarchism increased all the more in the
great industrial centres of the provinces. In the South were founded
the _Federation Lyonnaise_ and the _Federation Stephanoise_, which,
especially after Kropotkin took over the leadership and cleverly took
advantage of the discords prevailing among other Socialists (_e. g._,
at the congress of St. Etienne), made astonishing progress in Lyons,
the main centre of the movement, St. Etienne, Roanne, Narbonne, Nimes,
Bordeaux, and other places. According to Kropotkin, these unions
already numbered in a year's time 8000 members. In Lyons they
possessed an organ, which, like Most's _Freedom_, appeared under all
kinds of titles in order to elude the police, and which openly
advocated outrages and gave recipes for the manufacture of explosives.

The consequences of this unchecked agitation soon became visible. The
first opportunity was given by the great strikes which broke out at
the beginning of 1882 in Roanne, Bezieres, Molieres, and other
industrial centres of Southern France, and were used by the Anarchists
for their own purposes. A workman, Fournier, who shot his employer in
the open street, was honoured in Lyons by the summoning of a meeting
to present him with a presentation revolver. For the national fete on
the 14th July, 1882, a larger riot was planned to take place in Paris,
for which purpose help was also sought from London. But as there
happened to be a review of troops in Paris on that date, the
Anarchists contented themselves with issuing a manifesto "to the
Slaves of Labour," concluding with the words: "No Fetes! Death to the
Exploiters of Labour! Long Live the Social Revolution!" In autumn,
1882, riots broke out in Montceau-les-Mines and Lyons, in which
violent means were employed, including dynamite. Next spring (March,
1883), there and in Paris great demonstrations of the "unemployed"
took place in the streets, combined with robbery and dynamite
outrages, and on July 14th there were sanguinary encounters with the
armed forces of the State in Roubaix and elsewhere, when the populace
was incited to arise against the _bourgeoisie_, "who" (it wa