student revolt, France

student revolt, France (May 1968) Following the explosion in student numbers in previous decades without a corresponding transformation of the university system, and agitated (as students elsewhere) by the Vietnam War and political stagnation at home, students of Paris University first took to the streets at Nanterre in March 1968, in response to the arrest of a Nanterre student for his participation in bombings of US targets. After further protests the campus at Nanterre was closed on 3 May, and to cope with the spread of the unrest, classes were suspended at the Sorbonne while the police brutally suppressed student demonstrations. Across the country, there were demands by workers for participation in the demonstrations, though only in Nantes was a central strike committee actually formed which became the de facto city government for a week. Professionals moved against their antiquated organizations, and artists complained about state participation in (and censorship of) the arts. On 29 May, de Gaulle left the country, but he returned on 30 May and broadcast a defiant message which proved a decisive turning point. He dissolved the National Assembly and called new elections, in which the Gaullists won an overwhelming majority. Mollified by significant pay increases, the workers withdrew their support, and the students became increasingly marginalized. Since the revolt was not supported by the one French revolutionary party, the Communist Party, it is doubtful whether the May events ever had the potential to escalate into a revolution. Moreover, student revolts in other countries such as Germany and Mexico appeared similarly threatening when they occurred, but all were ultimately contained; yet the sense of fundamental crisis generated by them was real enough.