Paris Riots, May 1968
On March 22, 1968 a group of Nanterre University students in Paris, France began to peacefully occupy administrative buildings at their school. They were protesting the school’s funding structure and they wanted to hold a discussion with the administration on class discrimination. A meeting was scheduled and soon after the students released their demands of the University administration. Not long after the meeting, the students who had participated in the occupation began being prosecuted. Other students from Nanterre began to organize, protest and confront the University administration. By May 2nd, the University administration threatened to expel the student leaders and the administration was forced to close Nanterre University.
Students at the University of the Sorbonne, also in Paris, began to protest the actions against students at Nanterre and the closing of that school. Larger and larger numbers of students joined the protests, and this led to the Sorbonne shutting down as well. Re-occupying the two universities became the initial objective of the protesters. Each day larger and larger crowds gathered, including high school student unions and some teachers.
May sixth was the first day when protests turned to rioting, and barricades were erected, setting a theme for the coming nights. The demands of the protesters at this time were to drop all charges, release the students, and to reopen the universities. By the seventh, there were 50,000 protesters in the streets, and things continued to escalate until they reached a flash point on the tenth of May. Students rioted all night and there was intense fighting.
Twenty thousand angry students were heading toward the Sorbonne on the evening of May tenth, but their way was blocked by barricades manned by riot police. Parisian riot police demanded that the student protesters cease and disperse. Instead of dispersing, they began to erect barricades for themselves. They ripped up cobblestones, moved cars, and arranged debris into an opposing roadblock.
At 2:15 the next morning, the police were given the order to clear the streets. They deployed tear gas to compromise the protesters so the police could remove them. The protesters put up an impressive fight. They began by throwing everything they could, from Molotov cocktails to rocks. They burned tour buses and hijacked bulldozers so they could move sand to help reinforce their barricades.
These protests and riots totally disrupted everyday life in Paris. Members of the public took sides in the conflict. In the following days, thousands of workers went on strike to support the student’s protests, adding in their own grievances against the establishment. Some French Workers Unions joined in the protests and began to add their own issues to the greater protest. With the addition of the unions, it became the largest worker strike in the history of France.
By May 13, the slogans of the expanding group of protesters became more political. Over a million people marched through Paris that day. Police did not oppose the marchers. The Prime Minister, Charles De Gaul, personally announced the release of prisoners related to the student protests and the re-opening of the Sorbonne. These announcements, however did little to silence the protests now, the movement had grown beyond University students. On the 14th of the month, sit down strikes began at an aviation plant near Nantes. Workers locked managers in their offices. In the coming days strikes spread to Rouen and suburbs outside Paris. The protests had exploded out of Paris and into the rest of France. By the 16th of May, workers had occupied roughly 50 factories around France.
In the coming days more and more workers went on strike. By the 20th of May there were nearly 20 million workers on strike, or about ⅔ of the workforce of France.
The strikes were not controlled by the unions. The thoughts and ideals of the protesters were so radical that even the political establishment of their own traditional leftist party thought they were dreaming too big. Their expectations went beyond what the organized unions were asking for. In many cases the workers demanded more extreme things. They demanded a 35% increase in the minimum wage. They also insisted that they receive half pay for their time on strike. These demands were met and even exceeded in some situations. Prior to the strikes, workers could be fired at any time, but the protests changed that. This moment in history changed the face of labor in France dramatically.
The protests continued and the Paris Stock Exchange was set on fire on May 24th. The government planned to send in troops to break up the protests and rioting once and for all. The Communist Party encouraged workers to return to their jobs.
On May 25th and 26th, talks took place between labor unions and the Ministry of Social Affairs, and as a result, the Grinnell agreements were signed. They proposed to raise the minimum wage by 25% and the average salary by 10%. These proposals were rejected by the protesting workers and the protests continued.
By May 31st it appeared that the government would collapse. Prime Minister DeGaul left the country until he was assured that there were sufficient loyal military units to support him if necessary. He went on national radio, as the Television stations were on strike. He announced the dissolution of the National Assembly and that there would be elections for a new parliament on June 22nd. He ordered workers back to work and threatened a state of emergency if they didn’t comply. Workers began returning to their jobs, and by June 5th most had gone back to work. The National Student Union called off the protest. The Sorbonne was retaken by police by June 6th. On June 23rd, DeGaul triumphed in the elections and the crisis was over. Amazingly, no one was killed in the weeks of rioting. Paris began the process of cleaning up and getting back to a new normal.
Sources:
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/world/europe/11iht-paris.4.12777919.html?referer=https://www.google.com/
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90330162
https://www.marxists.org/history/france/may-1968/night-barricades.htm
https://libcom.org/history/1968-chronology-events-France-%2526-internationally
On March 22, 1968 a group of Nanterre University students in Paris, France began to peacefully occupy administrative buildings at their school. They were protesting the school’s funding structure and they wanted to hold a discussion with the administration on class discrimination. A meeting was scheduled and soon after the students released their demands of the University administration. Not long after the meeting, the students who had participated in the occupation began being prosecuted. Other students from Nanterre began to organize, protest and confront the University administration. By May 2nd, the University administration threatened to expel the student leaders and the administration was forced to close Nanterre University.
Students at the University of the Sorbonne, also in Paris, began to protest the actions against students at Nanterre and the closing of that school. Larger and larger numbers of students joined the protests, and this led to the Sorbonne shutting down as well. Re-occupying the two universities became the initial objective of the protesters. Each day larger and larger crowds gathered, including high school student unions and some teachers.
May sixth was the first day when protests turned to rioting, and barricades were erected, setting a theme for the coming nights. The demands of the protesters at this time were to drop all charges, release the students, and to reopen the universities. By the seventh, there were 50,000 protesters in the streets, and things continued to escalate until they reached a flash point on the tenth of May. Students rioted all night and there was intense fighting.
Twenty thousand angry students were heading toward the Sorbonne on the evening of May tenth, but their way was blocked by barricades manned by riot police. Parisian riot police demanded that the student protesters cease and disperse. Instead of dispersing, they began to erect barricades for themselves. They ripped up cobblestones, moved cars, and arranged debris into an opposing roadblock.
At 2:15 the next morning, the police were given the order to clear the streets. They deployed tear gas to compromise the protesters so the police could remove them. The protesters put up an impressive fight. They began by throwing everything they could, from Molotov cocktails to rocks. They burned tour buses and hijacked bulldozers so they could move sand to help reinforce their barricades.
These protests and riots totally disrupted everyday life in Paris. Members of the public took sides in the conflict. In the following days, thousands of workers went on strike to support the student’s protests, adding in their own grievances against the establishment. Some French Workers Unions joined in the protests and began to add their own issues to the greater protest. With the addition of the unions, it became the largest worker strike in the history of France.
By May 13, the slogans of the expanding group of protesters became more political. Over a million people marched through Paris that day. Police did not oppose the marchers. The Prime Minister, Charles De Gaul, personally announced the release of prisoners related to the student protests and the re-opening of the Sorbonne. These announcements, however did little to silence the protests now, the movement had grown beyond University students. On the 14th of the month, sit down strikes began at an aviation plant near Nantes. Workers locked managers in their offices. In the coming days strikes spread to Rouen and suburbs outside Paris. The protests had exploded out of Paris and into the rest of France. By the 16th of May, workers had occupied roughly 50 factories around France.
In the coming days more and more workers went on strike. By the 20th of May there were nearly 20 million workers on strike, or about ⅔ of the workforce of France.
The strikes were not controlled by the unions. The thoughts and ideals of the protesters were so radical that even the political establishment of their own traditional leftist party thought they were dreaming too big. Their expectations went beyond what the organized unions were asking for. In many cases the workers demanded more extreme things. They demanded a 35% increase in the minimum wage. They also insisted that they receive half pay for their time on strike. These demands were met and even exceeded in some situations. Prior to the strikes, workers could be fired at any time, but the protests changed that. This moment in history changed the face of labor in France dramatically.
The protests continued and the Paris Stock Exchange was set on fire on May 24th. The government planned to send in troops to break up the protests and rioting once and for all. The Communist Party encouraged workers to return to their jobs.
On May 25th and 26th, talks took place between labor unions and the Ministry of Social Affairs, and as a result, the Grinnell agreements were signed. They proposed to raise the minimum wage by 25% and the average salary by 10%. These proposals were rejected by the protesting workers and the protests continued.
By May 31st it appeared that the government would collapse. Prime Minister DeGaul left the country until he was assured that there were sufficient loyal military units to support him if necessary. He went on national radio, as the Television stations were on strike. He announced the dissolution of the National Assembly and that there would be elections for a new parliament on June 22nd. He ordered workers back to work and threatened a state of emergency if they didn’t comply. Workers began returning to their jobs, and by June 5th most had gone back to work. The National Student Union called off the protest. The Sorbonne was retaken by police by June 6th. On June 23rd, DeGaul triumphed in the elections and the crisis was over. Amazingly, no one was killed in the weeks of rioting. Paris began the process of cleaning up and getting back to a new normal.
Sources:
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/world/europe/11iht-paris.4.12777919.html?referer=https://www.google.com/
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90330162
https://www.marxists.org/history/france/may-1968/night-barricades.htm
https://libcom.org/history/1968-chronology-events-France-%2526-internationally