French Students Revive Echoes of 1968 Protests Amid Education System Woes

Hundreds of thousands of students have taken to the streets across France in a nationwide wave of protests, blockading high schools and demanding government action on issues plaguing the country's education system. The demonstrations, now in their third week, highlight concerns over staffing shortages, overcrowded classrooms, and dilapidated school buildings.

As the movement has gained momentum, hundreds of thousands have marched, with some protests turning violent, leading to arrests and injuries. France's Interior Ministry reported at least 6,547 arrests and hundreds of injuries to students and police officers. The Education Ministry stated that 157 schools remained closed as of Thursday.

Throughout these protests, students have carried signs referencing the year 1968, particularly May 1968, a pivotal moment in French history when a student movement escalated into nationwide protests and strikes involving millions of workers, bringing the country to the brink of collapse.

Some banners seen at recent demonstrations include "You’re trying to pull a fast one on us, we'll give you May '68" and "Generation 67 is doing May 68," nodding to internet trends. Another sign displayed the slogan "sois jeune et tais-toi" ("be young and shut up"), a phrase also used during the 1968 protests.

Experts note that 1968 remains a significant reference point in French protest history. Chris Reynolds, professor of contemporary European history at Nottingham Trent University, described it as a "seminal moment" that began as a student protest and rapidly grew into "arguably the greatest strike in French history."

What happened in May 1968?

In 1968, students at the Nanterre campus of the University of Paris protested restrictive and conservative university rules. The movement intensified when the Nanterre campus was shut down, and protests shifted to the Sorbonne campus in Paris. Students occupied the university, demanding reforms and accusing President Charles de Gaulle of running a "police state." Clashes with riot police led to hundreds of arrests, with a particularly violent confrontation on May 11 drawing national attention.

The student movement then expanded to include trade unions, which organized nationwide strikes. Approximately 10 million workers participated, impacting industries and raising economic concerns.

In response, President de Gaulle dissolved parliament and declared a state of emergency, later calling a snap election that his party won, emphasizing a return to stability. While the protest movement subsided, its impact was lasting. Robert Gildea, professor of European and French history at the University of Oxford, stated that 1968 was the "last huge explosion of students and workers, which nearly brought the state down." He added that "the French are very proud of their revolutionary tradition and all subsequent revolutions want to reference it as an appeal for legitimacy."

Since 1968, French students have continued to demonstrate, with notable protests in 2006 and 2018 also drawing comparisons to the historic uprising. Reynolds observes that the reference point of 1968 is consistently passed down through generations.