May Revolution, France

The events that took place in May 1968 during France's Fifth Republic government were the manifestation of discontent on the part of many elements of society. The protests and demonstrations that occurred led to a crisis for the French government on all levels—political, economic, cultural, and social. The May Revolution began as a series of student protests but escalated when the labor unions joined the ranks of the university students, and together they brought about a general strike that paralyzed France. These events did not occur in isolation, as 1968 was a year of student protest throughout the world. Although short-lived, the May Revolution demonstrated the extreme malaise of the French citizens and their willingness to question traditional values and authority. This series of events was instrumental in the development of a new society and contributed to the intellectual movement of Postmodernism.

In the spring of 1968, French university students dissatisfied with the state of higher education protested the “Americanization” of the university system brought about by the Fouchet Reforms, which included more competition and provided less leisure time for students. The students felt that free spirit was being encroached upon in the name of efficiency. This feeling was particularly widespread at the University of Nanterre. Located 10 miles west of Paris on an old army campground, the university is situated within an industrial neighborhood. Its urban industrial setting cloistered the students of Nanterre somewhat compared to the students at the Sorbonne in the heart of Paris. It was this student population, frustrated by their own surroundings as well as by the current state of French education, that touched off the revolution by boycotting classes and staging protests that disrupted university activities. On March 22, the students occupied a faculty conference room in the name of “freedom of expression.” This group, forever known as the March 22 movement, brought activist Daniel Cohn-Bendit into the spotlight to question the role and purpose of higher education. The unrest this group brought led to the closing of the University of Nanterre on May 2. The students at the Sorbonne followed suit, and the Sorbonne was forced to close the following day. Several confrontations between the students and the police ensued, with rioting and barricades going up in the Latin Quarter in Paris. The [Page 921]movement gained tremendous momentum when the workers joined forces with the students on May 13 and the main labor unions staged a demonstration in Paris accompanied by a general strike that crippled France for several days.

The French government responded by signing the Grenelle Accords on May 27 with representatives of the labor unions. This act angered many of the protesters, who found themselves divided into different factions based on divergent political beliefs and specific goals. President Charles de Gaulle, after receiving assurance of the support of the French army, assumed control and dissolved the National Assembly, the lawmaking body of France. De Gaulle reorganized the government, and his supporters staged their own march on the Champs-Élysées on May 30 to show his strength. De Gaulle's government was actually strengthened by the events of May in that the crisis brought about a victory in the June legislative elections. The momentum for the protesters was gone with the end of the strike and De Gaulle's assumption of control, and the movement simply faded away out of apathy, factional infighting within the New Left protesters, and an overall sense of futility.

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