'France is bored' claimed the headline to an article in Le Monde. But just a few weeks later France exploded into the world news. A spontaneous revolt started in the universities which spread and finally shook the very government and eventually led to the political demise of President de Gaulle.
That was in May five years ago, and perhaps now Les Evinements, or the Second French Revolution as it has been called, will be seen as a flash in the pan-a total failure. Some people, however, believe that the fabric of French society has changed profoundly as a result of those weeks of crisis in the Paris streets.
Tonight's special film, made in Paris by Gudie Lawaetz and Vincent Malle, reconstructs the atmosphere in France at the time and traces the 'events' through to the end, and includes scenes shot by the many cameramen who, although on strike themselves, went out into the streets and filmed every aspect of the happenings. Students, policemen, industrialists and politicians who played major roles in that extraordinary May look back at their own actions and experiences and evaluate the effects they have had on the world at large.
Introduced by Derek Hart
France, May '68: was it just a false alarms: pages 6-7