Trial of the Thirty

The Trial of the Thirty (French: Procès des trente) was a trial in 1894 in Paris, France, aimed at legitimizing the lois scélérates passed in 1893–94 against the anarchist movement and restricting press freedom by proving the existence of an effective association between anarchists. Lasting from 6 August to 31 October 1894, it put on trial 30 French and foreign alleged anarchists, on a charge of "criminal association" (association de malfaiteurs). Held in virtue of the lois scélérates censoring the press and outlawing apologies for propaganda by the deed, the trial mixed anarchist theorists with common law criminals. Among the defendants were Charles Chatel, Ivan Aguéli, Sébastien Faure, Félix Fénéon, Jean Grave, Louis Armand Matha, Maximilien Luce, Émile Pouget, Paul Reclus, Alexander Cohen, Constant Martin and Louis Duprat.