Prenez garde, vous allez la dechirer! (Be cafeful, you are going to tear it!), page 89 from Le Charivari, Actualités,

1872

Contemporary audiences would have easily identified the figures shown here as belonging to various political factions based on their related symbols. The man on the far left is Republicanism: the rooster is a traditional symbol of the republic, as is the cockade on the man’s hat. The man to his left represents monarchism, which is evidenced by the fleur-de-lis coming from his hat. To his left is the figure of Napoleon III, who is identifiable through the Napoleonic eagle on his hat and his iconic mustache. The last figure on the right is a communard, a mem­ber of the short-lived Paris Commune. Petrol was commonly associated with communards due to the widely believed story that it had been used to set fire to Paris during the Commune’s uprising in 1871.