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== Besieged ==
With most of the army captured at Sedan, the Government of National Defence called almost all military units from across France, including marines, naval units, and troops on foreign service in [[Rome]], [[Algeria]], and French colonies, to aid in the defence of Paris before the Prussians reached the city. The Government greatly increased the already formidable fortifications around Paris and brought in vast quantities of food from the countryside, to feed the swollen population of the city throughout the expected siege. Having sworn in General Trochu as President, the [[National Assembly]] left Paris and relocated to [[Bordeaux]]. Concerned that the rest of the country might complain about the Parisian-dominated government, Admiral Fourichon and Gaston Cremieux, both elderly men, were dispatched to [[Tours]] as a representative delegation on behalf of the government in Paris. By September 20 1870 Paris was completely surrounded and cut off from the rest of unoccupied France. On October 7, [[Léon Gambetta]] left Paris by [[hot air balloon]] and arrived in the city of Tours, from which he and his deputy [[Charles de Freycinet]] directed the war across unoccupied France. Although they were part of the same national government, the governments in Paris and Tours often acted without consulting each other, due largely to the problem of communication between besieged Paris and the outside world. The National Assembly in Bordeaux had very little say in government affairs, as they had no reliable means of contacting Paris and Gambetta did not have time to wait for the Assembly to debate issues. As a result, Gambetta became the virtual dictator of unoccupied France during the war.
Throughout the siege, the Government of National Defence was reluctant to try to break out of Paris, and as the siege wore on, the population of Paris grew more and more frustrated at the Government. The government did in fact try to break out twice, once in late November 1870 and once again in mid-January 1871. The "Great Sortie", beginning on the night of November 28, was a cataclysmic disaster. Thousands of soldiers were killed and the population of Paris, whose hopes had been raised far beyond rationality, were shattered by the news of the sortie's defeat. Blame was heaped upon the Government of National Defence, and increased through December as the city's food supplies began to run out. The population was angry that the Government was suspicious of the [[National Guard (France)|National Guard]] based in Paris - whilst the civilian population saw the National Guard as an unstoppable force, the Government perceived them as a rabble of ill-disciplined drunks who would run away at the first shot. When the Government decided to placate civilian sentiment by using the National Guard in the next sortie of 18 January 1871, their suspicions were confirmed as the National Guard panicked and fled back into Paris, provoking the civilian population to blame the Government for being incompetent and cowardly.
== End of the Government ==
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