1968 : PROTESTS MOUNT IN FRANCE:
In France, the May 1968 crisis escalates as a general strike spreads
to factories and industries across the country, shutting down
newspaper distribution, air transport, and two major railroads. By the
end of the month, millions of workers were on strike, and France
seemed to be on the brink of radical leftist revolution.
After the Algerian crisis of the l950s, France entered a period of
stability in the 1960s. The French empire was abolished, the economy
improved, and President Charles de Gaulle was a popular ruler.
Discontent lay just beneath the surface, however, especially among
young students, who were critical of France's outdated university
system and the scarcity of employment opportunity for university
graduates. Sporadic student demonstrations for education reform began
in 1968, and on May 3 a protest at the Sorbonne (the most celebrated
college of the University of Paris) was broken up by police. Several
hundred students were arrested and dozens were injured.
In the aftermath of the incident, courses at the Sorbonne were
suspended, and students took to the streets of the Latin Quarter (the
university district of Paris) to continue their protests. On May 6,
battles between the police and students in the Latin Quarter led to
hundreds of injuries. On the night of May 10, students set up
barricades and rioted in the Latin Quarter. Nearly 400 people were
hospitalized, more than half of them police. Leftist students began
calling for radical economic and political change in France, and union
leaders planned strikes in support of the students. In an effort to
defuse the crisis by returning the students to school, Prime Minister
Georges Pompidou announced that the Sorbonne would be reopened on May
13.
On that day, students occupied the Sorbonne buildings, converting it
into a commune, and striking workers and students protested in the
Paris streets. During the next few days, the unrest spread to other
French universities, and labor strikes rolled across the country,
eventually involving several million workers and paralyzing France. On
the evening of May 24, the worst fighting of the May crisis occurred
in Paris. Revolutionary students temporarily seized the Bourse (Paris
Stock Exchange), raised a communist red flag over the building, and
then tried to set it on fire. One policeman was killed in the night's
violence.
During the next few days, Prime Minister Pompidou negotiated with
union leaders, making a number of concessions, but failed to end the
strike. Radical students openly called for revolution but lost the
support of mainstream communist and trade union leaders, who feared
that they, like the Gaullist establishment, would be swept away in a
revolution led by anarchists and Trotskyites. On May 30, President de
Gaulle went on the radio and announced that he was dissolving the
National Assembly and calling national elections. He appealed for law
and order and implied that he would use military force to return order
to France if necessary. Loyal Gaullists and middle-class citizens
rallied around him, and the labor strikes were gradually abandoned.
Student protests continued until June 12, when they were banned. Two
days later, the students were evicted from the Sorbonne.
In the two rounds of voting on June 23 and 30, the Gaullists won a
commanding majority in the National Assembly. In the aftermath of the
May events, de Gaulle's government made a series of concessions to the
protesting groups, including higher wages and improved working
conditions for workers, and passed a major education reform bill
intended to modernize higher education. After 11 years of rule,
Charles de Gaulle resigned the presidency in 1969 and was succeeded by
Pompidou. He died the next year just before his 80th birthday.
history.com/tdih.do
1770 : Louis marries Marie Antoinette
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5005
1943 : Warsaw Ghetto uprising ends
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5006
1975 : Japanese woman scales Everest
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5007
############################################
In France, the May 1968 crisis escalates as a general strike spreads
to factories and industries across the country, shutting down
newspaper distribution, air transport, and two major railroads. By the
end of the month, millions of workers were on strike, and France
seemed to be on the brink of radical leftist revolution.
After the Algerian crisis of the l950s, France entered a period of
stability in the 1960s. The French empire was abolished, the economy
improved, and President Charles de Gaulle was a popular ruler.
Discontent lay just beneath the surface, however, especially among
young students, who were critical of France's outdated university
system and the scarcity of employment opportunity for university
graduates. Sporadic student demonstrations for education reform began
in 1968, and on May 3 a protest at the Sorbonne (the most celebrated
college of the University of Paris) was broken up by police. Several
hundred students were arrested and dozens were injured.
In the aftermath of the incident, courses at the Sorbonne were
suspended, and students took to the streets of the Latin Quarter (the
university district of Paris) to continue their protests. On May 6,
battles between the police and students in the Latin Quarter led to
hundreds of injuries. On the night of May 10, students set up
barricades and rioted in the Latin Quarter. Nearly 400 people were
hospitalized, more than half of them police. Leftist students began
calling for radical economic and political change in France, and union
leaders planned strikes in support of the students. In an effort to
defuse the crisis by returning the students to school, Prime Minister
Georges Pompidou announced that the Sorbonne would be reopened on May
13.
On that day, students occupied the Sorbonne buildings, converting it
into a commune, and striking workers and students protested in the
Paris streets. During the next few days, the unrest spread to other
French universities, and labor strikes rolled across the country,
eventually involving several million workers and paralyzing France. On
the evening of May 24, the worst fighting of the May crisis occurred
in Paris. Revolutionary students temporarily seized the Bourse (Paris
Stock Exchange), raised a communist red flag over the building, and
then tried to set it on fire. One policeman was killed in the night's
violence.
During the next few days, Prime Minister Pompidou negotiated with
union leaders, making a number of concessions, but failed to end the
strike. Radical students openly called for revolution but lost the
support of mainstream communist and trade union leaders, who feared
that they, like the Gaullist establishment, would be swept away in a
revolution led by anarchists and Trotskyites. On May 30, President de
Gaulle went on the radio and announced that he was dissolving the
National Assembly and calling national elections. He appealed for law
and order and implied that he would use military force to return order
to France if necessary. Loyal Gaullists and middle-class citizens
rallied around him, and the labor strikes were gradually abandoned.
Student protests continued until June 12, when they were banned. Two
days later, the students were evicted from the Sorbonne.
In the two rounds of voting on June 23 and 30, the Gaullists won a
commanding majority in the National Assembly. In the aftermath of the
May events, de Gaulle's government made a series of concessions to the
protesting groups, including higher wages and improved working
conditions for workers, and passed a major education reform bill
intended to modernize higher education. After 11 years of rule,
Charles de Gaulle resigned the presidency in 1969 and was succeeded by
Pompidou. He died the next year just before his 80th birthday.
history.com/tdih.do
1770 : Louis marries Marie Antoinette
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5005
1943 : Warsaw Ghetto uprising ends
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5006
1975 : Japanese woman scales Everest
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5007
############################################
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