Katherine Changes French Portfolio Part III: Part H The Riots of 68 In May of 1968, France experienced one of the

most influential moments in its history. Many philosophers and historians argue the riots of 1968 to be one of the most revolutionary events in the twentieth century because the riots were not demographic based. It was nothing but a popular uprising that looked past ethnicity, class, and age. The foundation of the French riots in 1968 started with students being upset with the de Gaulle government in France. President Charles de Gaulle and his Gaullist party ruled France at the time of the riots. Prior to the start of the riots, President de Gaulle had met with the French Communist and they had decided to try a joint government to replace de Gaulle and his party. People were afraid that the communist were plotting against the republic. What started out as just some riots outside of high schools and universities turned into full blown riots that needed law enforcement intervention. An upwards of 11,000,000 workers (22% of workers) took part in the riot and soon radicals from other cities joined in on the violent protesting. De Gaulle had to threaten rioters with severe military enforcement. After this the rebellion started to lose some of its intensity because leaders were afraid of causing too much of a rebellion. It also helped that de Gaulle decided to hold an election while he fled the country to a military base. The new National Assembly was dissolved and de Gaulle called for new parliamentary elections. This helped ease the tension of the riots. Right before this point rioters did not realize

that they had the government close to falling. One of the things that is so intriguing about the French riots of 1968 was that as quickly as they started, they ended. Workers went back to their jobs, high schoolers went back to high school, and university students went back to their studies. Many of the rioters saw the riots as a chance to shake up the old society. They wanted to see a change in educational methods, sexual freedom, and free love. They did not want to live by the stiff rules that were still seen amongst the traditional French. Even in this short period of unrest, many slogans were created and propaganda and graffiti littered the streets of France. The Riots of 68 will never be forgotten in French history. The riots show the power of people, and the power of standing by what you want. France has yet to see riots as explosive as the brief ones in 1968, however, this does not mean that they are not prepared.

Works Cited Frost, Martin. "Paris 1968." Paris 1968. N.p., 26 Oct. 2004. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/paris_1968.html>. Wilde, Robert. "Key Events in French History." About.com European History. About.com, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/france/tp/keymomentsfrance.02.htm>.