Nathalie Lemel

Nathalie Lemel (26 August 1827 - 1921), was a militant anarchist and feminist who participated on the barricades at the Commune de Paris of 1871. She was deported to Nouvelle Calédonie with Louise Michel.

Nathalie Lemel was born in Brest (in the department of Finistère), in Brittany, where her parents, the Duvals, owned a café. She was schooled until the age of twelve and then became a bookbinder. In 1845, she married Jérôme Lemel, another bookbinder. They had three children together. In 1849, the couple moved to Quimper where they opened a bookshop. Their business lasted until 1861, when the couple declared bankruptcy due to Jérôme's drinking problem, and Nathalie left him with their three children and went to Paris in order to find work.

She worked as a bookbinder and retailer in Paris, and then became a socialist activist. In 1864, the International Workers Association (IWA, aka First International) was created in London in the midst of the agitated social climate in Europe. In August 1864, the bookbinders all went on strike in the middle of a very large conflict, where one of the best known militants was Eugène Varlin. In 1865, Nathalie Lemel joined the First International. When a new strike was called, she was a member of the strike committee and was elected union delegate, which was a rare position for a woman to hold in those days. She distinguished herself by her determination and organisation: she fought notably for the equality of salaries between men and women. According to a police report,

This was in addition to her strong opposition to the Second Empire. In 1868, she left her home and family (mainly because of her husband's alcoholism), which did not help her reputation in the eyes of conservatives and the police. This increased freedom intensified her political activism: with Varlin and the other bookbinders, she participated in the creation of "The Housewife" ("La Ménagère"), a co-op, and "The Pot" ("La Marmite"), an open restaurant (that would account for four establishments in all for 8000 workers). She was employed there to prepare meals.

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