France’s May 1968 uprisings: Is Britain in Danger of its own Revolution?
2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the "May 1968" civil unrest in France, when a coalition of students, workers, trade unions and left wing political parties protested about capitalism, consumerism and American imperialism. Last October, President Macron announced a commemoration of the riots as “They helped liberate things within French society, then they perhaps broke something that you need to protect in a society”. What was the catalyst of this mass spontaneous outburst which started on 22nd March, shocked an entire nation and brought the country to a virtual halt?
The key reason for the uprising was that young people were critical of France’s outdated university system, its values and structure as well as the scarce employment prospects for graduates. On that day, 150 students were joined by Far-Left groups and a small number of prominent artists to invade one of the University of Nanterre’s buildings, in the southwest suburbs of Paris (now the main financial district). They held a meeting nearby regarding class discrimination and the political bureaucracy that controlled the university’s funding. The administration called the police so the students left the building without any retaliation but leaders of the “Movement of 22 March” were arrested later.
Following weeks of conflict between the students and the administration, the University of Nanterre closed its doors in early May, sparking another protest from Sorbonne University students. A general assembly took place and the police surrounded Nanterre. Students and teachers from both universities joined forces in the centre of Paris and riots erupted. In response to the violence of the police reaction, marches culminated in barricades, cobbled stones being thrown, police firing tear gas and a multitude of arrests. Even high school pupil unions joined the riots and a strong march against police brutality turned into a day long battle with protesters retaliating with Molotov cocktails and singing “Long live the Paris Commune!”
By 10th May, another huge uprising took place on the Rive Gauche, when rioters erected barricades across the narrow streets. This time, the students did not disperse, throwing cobblestones, destroying building sites, turning parked cars over and burning others, all in a cloud of tear gas. After 3 hours of fighting, over 300 people were injured, despite the fact that no gunfire took place and there were no deaths. The events were broadcast on radio and TV, spreading the sense of revolution.
Following massive demonstrations, the Education Minister finally started negotiations, however by then, 60 barricades had been erected and workers had now decided to join the students. Over a million marched through the capital. Building seizures and demonstrations spread through France via leaflets, telegrams, posters, addresses and the famous 1968 graffities, where slogans such as: “All power to the imagination” and “Be realistic, demand the impossible” were painted. Left-wing groups led a march of solidarity with the students who reoccupied the Sorbonne and converted it into a commune. It was, some must have thought at the time, a re-run of the French Revolution of 1789.
The high tide of the May '68 period of civil unrest culminated in President Charles du Gaulle fleeing the country to seek the safety of a French military base in Germany, his wife removing the Du Gaulle family jewellery from their country home outside Paris and the largest general strike of workers in France, with 10 million workers refusing to go to work.
However, historical commentators have observed that the protests evaporated because the body of protest lacked cohesion, being made up of disparate interest groups. The trade unions and communist party supportED machinery, in particular, did not wish to overthrow the existing government but to obtain a better deal for their membership within the existing system of government. The students, on the other hand, had high ideals about replacing the institutions of government and society with a new, vaguely formed utopian idea of peace and love. One of their slogans of the time was "beneath the pavement lies the beach." That pavement, formed of cobble stones, provided easily assessable missiles to throw at the police during the riots.
Whilst President du Gaulle was re-elected with an increased majority in June 1968, the civil protests gave rise to an explosion in the creative arts, with writers, artists and musicians celebrating and giving voice to the social issues and tensions that had given rise to the May '68 riots.
These ideas of protesting against capitalism, consumerism and American imperialism are not dissimilar to those which Jeremy Corbyn, leader the Labour Party, has sought to tap into current UK politics. Should we be worried?
The sense of concern from the younger generation about these issues has been captured in the current Labour Party slogan: "For the many, not for the few." Whilst many members of the Labour Party have concerns about Mr Corbyn's ability to run an effective government and therefore convince a majority of people that they should vote for Labour in the next election, ignoring the concerns that he has given voice to would mean risking such an outcome. Then, we might well have riots in the streets of London!