Lately, during the discussions about a lot of our existentialist/postmodern scholars, we've touched on their involvement in the French student uprisings of the 1960s, specifically the uprising of 1968, which led to the closure of the University of Paris at Nanterre and Sorbonne and nearly broke the government. I thought I'd post a brief chronology of this uprising, since it a) involved and inspired so many of our mid-20th century theorists, and b) was so significant in French history that every student protest since cannot escape comparison to it by the media. Also, did I mention it almost broke France? It almost broke France.
It is also significant because all of this happened in about a month. May of 1968 remains a landmark month in French history. Here's a brief overview:
1) The University of Nanterre. Students are unhappy about France's class discrimination and, specifically, the bureaucratic nature of the school's funding. After months of conflict and an instance in which the students invaded a board room and held their own meeting, the school closes and several of the key students are threatened with expulsions. Students are even less happy.
2) Students of Nanterre, who have a lot of free time now that their school has closed, gather in Paris to protest the closure. When a brutal riot breaks out, they are joined by students from Sorbonne (which has also been closed due to protests), high school students, and civilians. They meet at the Arc du Triumph to demand that a) all the charges be dropped b) the police calm the heck down, and c) the schools be reopened. The government responds with d) none of the above, and the students are even less happy.
3) The protests moves from a student protest to a general protest when workers from hundreds of factories join to march against police brutality and an unethical economic system. It quickly turns into another riot, complete with flying pavement stones, Molotov cocktails, and burning cars. The Communist party and union movement get involved. Over two million join the protests, and begin re-occupying factories and the University of Sorbonne, which is announced to be an autonomous "people's university." At this point, no one is happy.
4) Negotiations fail over and over, and by this point not even the re-opening of Sorbonne is enough to quell the protestors' rage. They call for the overhaul of the government and set the stock exchange on fire. President De Gaulle flees the country, but remains firm. At this point, no one remembers what happy looks like.
5) After the Grenelle agreements, which raise average salaries by 10% and minimum wage by 25%, protestors continue to march in the streets by the hundred thousands. President de Gaulle threatens to declare a state of emergency and announces the dissolution of the National Assembly. No one really knows what to do.
6) By the 5th of June, a month after the protests began, most strikers have gone back to work. De Gaulle is re-elected. Everyone is a little sheepish, and no one asks if the students are happy.
Here's my source (which tends to be a little overdramatic, if very informative), and here is a list of graffiti slogans used during the uprising. To me, this is all very exciting, and it sheds new light on the more anti-establishment leanings of our recent theorists. Also, it reminds me of this. Is that racist?
Amy,
ReplyDeleteGreat overview. Also, the Paris VIII, where Lacan, Derrida, Cixous, and many others studied/taught, was formed as a result of these protests. Yes, I think this song is racist.