As strikes rage in France today, the legacy of May '68 looms large
| Paris
G茅rard Alezard never threw a stone, vandalized property, or endured the blows of a police baton聽like many 蝉辞颈虫补苍迟别-丑耻颈迟补谤诲蝉听(sixty-eighters) 鈥� those who participated in France鈥檚 May 1968 protests. But he remembers those who did.
They were mostly students who had led a protest on May 10 in Paris鈥檚 Latin Quarter that ended in a violent confrontation with police. On that notorious evening 鈥� 鈥渢he Night of the Barricades鈥� 鈥� thousands of police officers descended on the Left Bank聽of the Seine River聽to break up the some 20,000 students who had erected a dozen barricades in protest.
By the next morning, the area resembled a war zone 鈥� cars smashed, fires burning, and sidewalks uprooted. More than 400 students were brutally arrested; beaten with batons, sprayed with tear gas, and assaulted. 鈥淪o many people, myself included, were disgusted by what happened鈥� to them, says Mr. Alezard, who was the head of the Paris branch of the CGT trade union at the time.
Why We Wrote This
The nationwide strikes currently racking France aren't just a discrete event. They exist in the shadow of the strikes of May 1968, when student protests nearly exploded into revolution; they still resonate in and shape French society today.
France鈥檚 May 鈥�68 鈥� in all its glory and myth 鈥� is often remembered for its early days of student protests and the police brutality that came with it. But what happened next is what became so notable for the movement itself and how France鈥檚 current nationwide transport protest has been shaped, 50 years on. It was in those frantic days that followed May 10 that the labor code, public services, the role of trade unions, and cultural and sexual liberation聽all evolved, changing how France operates to this day.
鈥淎fter May 10, there was so much anger and a desire to fight back, to be in solidarity with the students,鈥� says Alezard, who at 82 still remembers those days vividly. 鈥淔rom that moment on, we saw the power of the people.鈥�
Bringing France to a standstill
While many associate the start of the May 鈥�68 strikes with student protests on May 2 and 3, a rising indignation was already brewing across the country before then.
France at the time was a rigidly conservative, hierarchical society, dogged by massive unemployment, vast political divisions, and a relative lack of women鈥檚 rights. University students had been protesting since March, with demands ranging from visitation rights for young men and women to each other鈥檚 dormitories, to an end to the wars in Vietnam and Algeria.
After the聽Night of the Barricades, French society went into an uproar against the government. What began as a one-day general strike organized by the CGT on May 13 turned into a month-long shutdown of France鈥檚 economy.
Throughout the month of May, union leaders made the rounds to offices, department stores, and factories to instruct workers on how to occupy spaces in an effort to bring the country to a halt. 鈥淚t was important for us that the employees decided for themselves if and how they protested,鈥� says Alezard. 鈥淚 felt an enormous amount of pressure to lead the protests responsibly so that the country could advance.鈥�
On May 27, union representatives met with government leaders to negotiate an end to the strikes. While an agreement was never actually signed and the strikes continued until June, their talks set the stage for future improvements to France鈥檚 labor code, like a raise to the minimum wage and the right for trade unions to operate within companies.
Marion Fontaine, a historian from the University of Avignon, says that trade union activity during May聽鈥�68 had more of an impact than many realize. 鈥淚n May 鈥�68, France鈥檚 trade unions were very strongly divided between the left, the reformists, and the more radical groups,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he fact that workers were striking 鈥� collectively 鈥� is what had such an impact then and has carried over to today.鈥�
In early April of this year, railway workers from three trade unions launched a three-month strike to protest against President Emmanuel Macron鈥檚 reforms, which they say will privatize railway services. Workers from other sectors have since joined sporadically in the fight too. They accuse Mr. Macron of slowly privatizing the country鈥檚 public services, a prized component of French society since World War II.
鈥淭here is a lack of evolution when it comes to salaries, working conditions are deteriorating, and thousands of jobs will be cut,鈥� says Gabriel Gaudry, the general secretary of the Paris branch of the trade union Force Ouvri猫re.
Mr. Gaudry, who participated in the May 鈥�68 strikes when he was 25, led protests this year on May 1. 鈥淚 would be lying if I said I didn鈥檛 hope these current protests shut down the country and blocked the economy like in May 鈥�68.鈥�
#MeToo, 1968
At the same time that workers were fighting for better salaries, conditions, and union rights, France鈥檚 feminist movement was taking off.聽It was only in 1965 that married women could open a bank account in their name and in 1967 that contraception was legalized.
But it wasn鈥檛 until May 鈥�68 that women like Mich猫le Idels comprehended what was missing from French society and, ultimately, from the movement. 鈥淭here was a certain misogyny during the strikes,鈥� says Ms. Idels, who took part in the strikes of May 鈥�68 as an 18-year-old and is now co-president of feminist organization Alliance Femmes. 鈥淲omen鈥檚 issues were not being addressed鈥�. It was as if we didn鈥檛 exist at all.鈥�
Spurred on by what Idels calls the 鈥渕ale arrogance鈥� of the May 鈥�68 movement, feminist activists fixed posters inside the halls of the Sorbonne in June 鈥�68, calling on students to fight male domination. Soon, the Women鈥檚 Liberation Movement was born.
The years following May 鈥�68 saw the legalization of abortion, the creation of the first women-run publishing house, a ministerial position dedicated to women鈥檚 rights, and a law guaranteeing gender equality in political institutions.
鈥淭he movements that came out of May 鈥�68 were able to transform society more quickly in 20 or 30 years than in 2,000 years of history,鈥� says Idels. 鈥淚t was a historic step for women鈥� the #MeToo movement shows us this heritage, at what point things have advanced.鈥�
Fifty years later
Despite comparisons with the movement five decades ago, the current strikes have failed to stir the public to the same extent. According to an April Ifop poll, just 41 percent of French people supported the railway strike, while 78 percent said they believed the government would push its reforms to the bitter end.
Most union leaders agree that in order to replicate the powerful nature of May 鈥�68, more workers from more sectors will have to join the strike. Working against them, though, is a much different society, with fewer political and social factions. Even student activists have organized in support of the strikers 鈥� a sort of reverse of how May 鈥�68 unfolded 鈥� occupying buildings at several universities across the country since March. But their efforts have not sparked wider support.
And yet, it is the romantic notions which remain intact from May 鈥�68 that have left such a lasting mark in the French collective memory.
鈥淲e gained more than women鈥檚 rights, a less rigid society, and a stronger minimum wage,鈥� says Erik Neveu, a professor of political science at Sciences Po Rennes. 鈥淲e were transformed by May 鈥�68 鈥� the right to have an opinion, to take initiative, and a feeling of legitimacy for the power of the individual.鈥�
Professor Neveu says that the majority of May soixante-huitards have remained politically and socially engaged. A vast number of France鈥檚 major influencers 鈥� journalists, intellectuals, philosophers, and politicians 鈥� are former聽May 鈥�68 activists.
Alezard, too, has refused to stay quiet, even 50 years since he first helped lead one of France鈥檚 most revered social movements. Now, he鈥檚 an unofficial economic advisor to the CGT and stands in support of the current railway strike.
鈥淲e did a lot of soul searching after May 鈥�68, where did we go wrong, how can we improve in the future,鈥� says Alezard. 鈥淏ut one thing is for sure. If you want something, you have to fight for it.鈥�
