The events of the May storm

In January 1968, French Minister of Youth and Sports Francois Missofou went to the Nanterre College of the University of Paris to cut the ribbon for the completion of the swimming pool. Dissatisfied with the university's strict restrictions on male students visiting female dormitories, some students surrounded the minister. German-born anarchist Danny Cohen-Bundy, known as "Red Danny" asked "why students' sexual issues are never discussed" "The minister rashly replied, "You can jump into the water to defeat the fire." Cohen-Bondy immediately responded, "This is the only reply fascist officials give to students." The irritated students responded and shouted, "Down with gender segregation." , the overwhelmed minister left in a hurry, and the students' resistance began: they already had a clear target-the government, and the leader everyone expected-Danny the Red.

On March 21, a left-wing commando occupied the American MRT building in Paris to protest against the continuation of the Vietnam War. The police arrested 6 people, one of whom was a Nanterre College student. The next day, Cohen-Bundy led students to occupy the administrative building of Nanterre College in protest. This was the first time in French history that students occupied an educational administration building. For a time, various student organizations gathered at Nanterre College and established the "322 Movement" organization headed by "Red Danny".

It was not just the students who were in commotion. In February, Culture Minister Malraux fired Langlois, the respected director of the French Film Archive, and angry people in the film industry established the "Defend Film Archives" Museum Committee", demanding Malraux's resignation. On April 21, Malraux reinstated Langlois, but retaliated by cutting off government funding for the museum. This act met with strong backlash from the film and intellectual circles, and prompted most of them to join the "Red Five" During the month, I stood firmly on the side of the students.

On May 2, the school closed Nanterre College and ordered Cohen-Bundy and other eight key students to go to the Disciplinary Committee of the University of Paris Headquarters to receive reprimands. The next day, the University of Paris students went to the Sorbonne University Headquarters. A protest rallied in front of the department, and Education Minister Alain Perefit and Principal Jean Roche, worried about causing a chain reaction, invited a large number of police officers to move into the Sorbonne campus. This is the second time in the 700-year history of the University of Paris that the University of Paris has been closed. The last time was due to the Nazi occupation, and according to French tradition, the police are not allowed to enter the campus. These actions not only angered the students more, but also made most professors and scholars stand in sympathy. from the student’s standpoint. That afternoon, 1,600 police officers surrounded the campus and arrested more than 300 students. The students chanted the slogan "Give me back my comrades" to resist, but were suppressed by tear gas and batons. The students and onlookers immediately formed a blockade in Luxembourg Square. Symbolizing the first barricade of the revolution, the battle begins.

On May 6, the French National Union of Students (UNEF) and the National Union of Secondary and Higher School Teachers (SUESUP) called for a general strike and a teaching strike; on the 8th, a group of celebrities such as Sartre issued a statement calling for "All workers and intellectuals support the struggle launched by students and teachers materially and morally." People began to wave flags, sing "The Internationale" and march on the streets. Fierce clashes between students and police on St. Germain Street resulted in 422 people were arrested and more than 900 were injured; on the 9th, Sartre and others signed a declaration "Salute to the students who used all means to escape the alienated order". A larger demonstration broke out in the Latin Quarter, and the police blocked the bridges on the Seine River. , the two sides launched a fierce conflict, resulting in hundreds of people being injured and arrested. The conflict lasted until dawn the next day. The active involvement of the film industry caused the news of the "May Storm" to spread quickly throughout France. Students in Lyon, Nantes, Strasbourg and other places responded one after another. The Latin Quarter became a world of barricades. This night was called " Night at the Barricade.”

On the evening of the 11th, Prime Minister Pompidou, who had returned from a visit, announced that the police had withdrawn from the Sorbonne campus. On the 13th, 800,000 people from the General Confederation of Trade Unions (CGF), the French Democratic Labor Confederation (CFDT) and Paris student organizations marched across Parade through Paris, famous politicians of the Socialist Party and Communist Party and later French President Mitterrand, Pierre Mendès France, Prime Minister of the Fourth French Republic ), Roger and others also appeared in the procession; the demonstrators immediately entered the Sorbonne and occupied most of the public buildings in the Latin Quarter within the next week.

President de Gaulle's initial reaction to the May storm was dismissive and insisted on visiting Romania on the 14th.

The next day, the French National Theater, the French Writers Association and other institutions were controlled by demonstrators, and the Cannes Film Festival was hastily canceled in support of the students. Some student organizations began to go to factories and connect across the country, calling for "the working class to take over leadership from the hands of thin students." A wave of strikes began to sweep across France. On the 18th, the French public transportation system went on strike, completely paralyzing Paris.

On the 21st, the government ordered Cohen-Bundy and others to be deported. The next day, an anti-deportation demonstration broke out. On the 24th, de Gaulle, who had remained silent since returning to China, gave a speech, agreeing to carry out university, economic and social reforms, and recommending a referendum. Demonstrators responded with calls of "Goodbye, De Gaulle". The president's supporters attacked the demonstrators, leading to Two people died; on the 25th, the government and the trade unions began negotiations and reached a series of agreements on the 27th. However, they were rejected by most workers. The demonstrators began to plan to organize a "popular front" that included all left-wing forces and was similar to the 1936 Popular Front. People's Government". From May 27 to June 30, France fell into a serious political crisis. Students and workers continue to demonstrate and oppose the collective bargaining agreement signed by management and union representatives on May 27 under the leadership of the Pompidou government. President de Gaulle even thought the situation was out of control. Leftist political parties and politicians claimed that they could take political responsibility and organize a provisional government to control the situation.

On the 29th, the May storm reached its peak. On this day, 10 million workers went on strike across France, which has a population of only 50 million. More than 300 factories were occupied by workers, and more than 30 universities were occupied by students. On the same day, de Gaulle suddenly disappeared, and there were even rumors that he had committed suicide.

On this day, de Gaulle secretly flew to Germany, went to Baden-Baden, the French garrison in Germany, met with the French garrison commander Massot, and obtained military allegiance; The confident president immediately flew back and delivered a speech at 16:30 on the 30th, announcing the dissolution of parliament and holding a general election. And called on the French people to show their civic spirit and support the democratically elected government. Within two hours of President de Gaulle's appeal, half a million citizens took to the streets and demonstrated on the Champs Elysées in support of President de Gaulle's rejection of Mitterrand's political ambitions. President de Gaulle's firm declaration marked the beginning of the end of France's political crisis. In the following June, demonstrations and factory occupations gradually decreased and retreated, and political parties were busy preparing for elections after the dissolution of Congress.

The demonstrators tried to boycott the election and shouted angrily that "young people have cast their vote on the barricades", but the government has seized the initiative. On June 1, demonstrations and rallies was banned, a large number of striking workers were fired, and two workers died in the subsequent conflicts. On the 10th, the general election voting began. Regarding this election, some scholars ridiculed that if the government does not like the people, why not dissolve the people and elect another group of people? Some movement organizers are still making last-ditch efforts, but to no avail, with participants and supporters exhausted. On the 16th, the protest organization announced its dissolution and withdrew from public facilities such as the Sorbonne. On this day, the whole of Paris was decorated into a sea of ??slogans, slogans, leaflets, and red flags. People cheered, shouted, and sang, giving the failure of the "May Storm" a comic ending of "spiritual victory." On the 30th, the election was announced. De Gaulle's right wing won 46% of the people's support and 72% of the seats in Congress. The crisis of the Fifth Republic was completely resolved. De Gaulle appointed a new prime minister, Maurice Couve de Murville, to actively carry out various reforms demanded by students and society.

Slogan

1. The consumer society cannot die well, and the alienated society cannot die well. We want a new and original world, and we reject a world in which the danger of death from boredom is exchanged for freedom. The Hungry World

2. Man is not free until he strangles the last bureaucrat with the intestines of the last capitalist.

3. Don’t change your employer, but be employed to change your life

4. Action must not be a reaction, but a creation

5. I hold Desire for reality, because I believe in the realization of my desires

6. Strictly prohibit "strictly prohibition"

7. There is nothing called revolutionary thought, only revolutionary action

< p>8. Go ahead, comrade, you have left the old world behind

9. Even though you are rich, you are still afraid, even though you are alive, you are still dead

10. Commodities are the opium of the people