 Thiers refused the proposal.On 14 May, Rigault proposed to exchange 70 hostages for the extreme-left leader, and Thiers again refused.Since every able-bodied man in Paris was obliged to be a member of the National Guard, the Commune on paper had an army of about 200,000 men on 6 May; the actual number was much lower, probably between 25,000 and 50,000 men.