'Twas the year of 1968

A year of revolution

When we think of the year 1968, we often argue that is one of the most historic years. We can view the global impact of the American civil rights movement, second-wave feminism, the ongoing wars and of course, student uprisings. We can view images of Parisians battling with the police and the violence which emerged in the streets. In this post, I will be discussing the events which took place in 1968 and the global impact.

The youth fight back...

Imagine a world where your voice would not be acknowledged. Place yourself in the 1960s where you were surrounded by flaws in the system. As a university student now, life is a lot simpler concerning your interests and general rights. But why is 1968 such a fascinating year? Well, particularly in France, students began to realise the crisis in the university system. France had a vast population of students by 1968, with a figure of 160,000. Boys and girls were separated from one another, classrooms were crowded. This young fellow below decided that something needed to be done. As well as fighting for the students, workers could get involved, in fact, nine million of them engaged in protests and hugely impacted society. [1]

An iconic image of a laughing Daniel Cohn-Bendit, pictured in May 1968. He was one of the main leaders of the student revolt in May 1968. Rumoured to be a catch with the ladies too.

Younger people were starting to take control of their futures; they were tired of facing unemployment due to poor education and job opportunities. In 1968, 52% of students were afraid of facing unemployment after they graduated which nowadays is not so much of a fear in our minds as we have excellent career advice services. In regards to the university system at Nanterre, the French government intervened to make education even more difficult. The selection of students was becoming more rigorous and as a result, on 21 November 1967, 10,000 students boycotted. The ever so boisterous Cohn-Bendit indeed argued against this intervention and even expressed his concern for the needs of his fellow peers. 

Of course, we can see the unrest which was increasing but only proper action took place in May 1968. On 3 May 1968, demonstrations took place in Sorbonne. These students protest about the expulsion of seven students. At this point, the level of violence began to increase as clashes escalated each night. Barricades were torn down, tear gas was thrown, many were injured. Yet, this is the burning question on our tongues; what was General de Gaulle doing about the confrontation?

He wanted to put a stop to these demonstrations but as he was much older by this point and ignorant of the young people's desires, he became very unpopular. The situation for him got even worse as on 13 May, there was a general strike of 800,000 students and trade unionists. The workers expressed their sympathies to the students, the streets of Paris were bloodshed. Televisions filmed these tragic events. By the end of May, 10 million of workers were on strike and this certainly impacted the presidency of De Gaulle. He expressed that the country was on 'the brink of chaos'. 

The demonstrations did not end totally but things were on the way of improvement for the youth. In November 1968, the National Assembly passed new university legislation. 

Global impact...

In other countries, such as West Germany and Czechoslovakia, they were influenced by what was happening in France. Students were motivated to demand reform, but perhaps a more peaceful way. The Socialist German Student League became more popular in support and in the 60s, it was a 'golden decade' for Czech and Slovak culture. [2] Thus, we can agree that it had a global impact as it motivated people to unite and overcome dictatorship. We can definitely see profound political changes came out from the 1968 revolts and as a student, I can sympathise with these young people who wanted to feel accepted and recognised as people too. 

By Karis Chopping

1. L. Mathieu, 'The Spatial Dynamics of the May 1968 French Demonstrations', p.83 

2. M. Klimke and J. Scharloth (eds), 1968 in Europe - A History of Protest and

            Activism, 1956-7 (2008) p.97-163