The Other French Revolution

Most of us have heard of La Révolution française*, with its tales of out-of-touch princesses, pantless radicals (les sans-culottes*) and public beheadings by way of guillotine, but how many among us know of a much more recent, and thankfully less violent, uprising?

For the soixante-huitards*, the concerns were of a similar hue to the revolutionaries of 1789: le capitalisme*, le consumerisme* and les institutions traditionnelles.*

Driven by students at the Sorbonne University in Paris, the seven-week period of civil unrest spread throughout France and included manifestations*, general strikes and the occupation of universities and factories. At the height of the troubles, the French economy ground to a halt.

A fascinating topo* below, thanks to TV 5 Monde Plus.

Click image to play video.

*The French Revolution | *without breeches (these commoners not not literally naked from the waist down - they just couldn’t afford the fancy silk knee-breeches worn by the nobility and bourgeoisie of the time, known as ‘culottes’ and had to make do with long cotton pantaloons. I’d rise up against that, too.) | *68ers, or those who took part in the demonstrations and riots | *capitalism | *consumerism | *traditional institutions | *protest marches | *rundown