The Power of the Student Voice: Looking back at the French Academic Revolution of 1968 by: Bernadette Wycks Imagine that you’ve taken the last bite of your croissant. Imagine you’re warming your hands against the heat of your cafE-o-lait. Imagine that you sit in a drafty caf, and, in between sips, talk to your friends about your problems at school and how they are mirrored in society around you. You speak of challenges in class size, of instructor account- ability, of the worth of training in a higher truth, a higher aes- thetic, when you don’t see it reflected around you. You feel the frustration of your friends rising as your own does: not knowing what to do, or how to get beyond the educational quagmire in which you find yourselves. Imagine that you wrap your scarf around your neck, slap a hat on your head, and walk with your friends down by the water. You walk your frustration out of your body as you talk into the night. The city lights reflect inspira- tion in the black, bobbing water. Oh, yeah! Imagine, too, that you speak French. ‘Cuz thirty years ago university students in Paris and all of France revolted. * In the Sixties, scores of students, faculty and gov- ernmental administrators knew things had to change. The universities were very dependent on the Ministry of National Education. Constant consultation was needed to make rudi- mentary decisions. The individual faculties within the school structure “had attained such monstrous proportions that the university itself had lost all reality and appearance of unity.” (The Elusive Revolution, Raymond Aron, p.xiii) Students had to complete competitive, national examinations, which lead to uniformity in education, but were “hardly conducive to peda- gogic or intellectual Parisian Sorbonne, in the Latin Quarter. The students didn’t think the ‘Fouchet plan’ went far enough. They held a sur- prise, wildcat strike! In the winter, the government tried to set up ‘com- munication’ structures, a gesture to supposedly open up an educational dialogue. However, the students could discuss everything but the most fundamental issues. It was impossi- ble to question the university as a whole, as the discussion was restricted to one discipline in one faculty at a time. Frustration grew. The frustration reached out, and touched French factory workers. The students started to organize with them, and gained support for their ‘battle with the bureaucracy.’ “With de Gaulle, capitalism hoped to modernize itself, but it was the working class that was to pay the costs of the opera- tion.” (The French Student Revolt: the Leaders Speak, Jean- Pierre Duteuil, p.49) In the late 60s, five hundred thousand people were unemployed and the cost of living had risen. “Once the economy had reached a certain level of moderniza- tion, education had to be modernized too. Education was rationalized to train technocrats.” (Ibid., p.49) So, workers and students stood on common ground and voiced their col- lective frustration. * On March 22, 1968, 200-250 students occupied the university’s administration building. And the protest grew. The government closed the Nanterre building (on the pretext that an almost non-existent [Occident] fascist group had attacked the faculty). Nanterre students moved on to the Sorbonne for a protest meeting attended by every stu- dent leader. The Rector (equiva- innovation.” (Ibid., p.xiii) The whole university structure was seen to be maladapted to its eco- nomic and social func- tions, in research as well as in education. Seventy per cent of people who attended French univer- sities didn’t complete their courses. And of those who did graduate, many were unemployed. (The French Student Revolt: the Leaders Speak, Alain Geismar, p.29) The govern- ment of Charles de Gaulle tried to offer “Within a few days, France [had] been practically paralyzed by work stoppage and factory occupations. And all because the students took control of the streets in the Latin Quarter’ lent to a dean) of the university panicked, and asked for govern- mental authority to close the Sorbonne. On Friday, May 3rd, at 4 pm, the police swarmed the Sorbonne, and started swinging at students. “On the pretext that 3 chairs had:been broken, they arrested all political and trade union representatives of the stu- dent movement.” (The French Student Revolt: the Leaders Speak, Alain Geismar, p.29) Half and hour later, every student in the Latin Quarter was doing a dance of resistance with the police. “With no leaders left, a perfectly spon- taneous and unexpectedly violent band-aid solutions with the ‘Fouchet plan.’ The curriculum of the schools would be renewed. There would also be an installation of a university structure adapted to short-term growth of giant business firms able to manufacture middle class ‘cadres’ through tech- nical institutes. The French schools would still be able to compete with the American system by “holding open the noble, royal road for the training of research workers.” (Ibid., p.31) But this ‘band-aid’ was not able to contain the ‘boil’ that was bubbling to burst... * The struggle began in September 1967, at Nanterre, a ramshackle, tumbling-down residence of the CONSTRUCTIVISM demonstration was crushed with unprecedented brutality.” (Ibid., p.32) By 10 pm that evening, workers had ordered a general strike, in support of the students. The support swelled, surrounding thousands who were dissatisfied. With the idea of revolution seemingly a core element of their psyche, French working people’s tradi- tions are such that “...when the police beat other people, the workers imagine themselves beside those being massacred; later on the workers realized that the authorities could be made to retreat a certain distance, and to accept the condi- tions posed be the street demonstrations; and this realization, along with very deep social unrest, spread and broadlined into an open struggle.” (Ibid., p.32) Naum Gabo and Antoine Pevsner: An excerpt from The Realistic Manifesto (1820) The realization of our perceptions of the world in the forms of space and time is the only aim of our pictorial and plastic art. In them we do not measure our works with the yardstick of beau- ty we do not weigh them with pounds of tenderness and senti- ments. The piumb-line in our hand, eyes as precise as a ruler, in a spir- it as taut as a compass. 1. we construct our work as the universe constructs its own, as the engineer constructs his bridges, as the mathematician his formula of the orbits. : We know that everything has its own essential image; chair, table, lamp, telephone, book, house, man ... they are all entire worlds with their own rhythms, their own orbits. That is why we in creating things take away from them the labels of their owners ... all accidental and local, leaving only the reali- ty of the constant rhythm of the forces in them. On Friday, May 10th, talks broke down between the government and the students. There was a revolt in the Latin Quarter. Barricades were erected. A brutal police response followed. The next day, May 11th, the trade union head quarters called for a 24 hour general stride on Monday, May 13th, to protest the repression. So, on the 13th, the parades of workers, students, and faculty, was estimated at one million strong. The next day. students occupied the Sud Aviation plant at Nanterre. Prime Minister Pompidou requested an amnesty. The next week, on Monday, May 20th , the left wing of parliament demanded the resignation of the govern- ment, and that general elections be held. On the next Friday, May 24, de Gaulle declared that France would hold a referen- dum on more participation in the universities, and that he would resign if it were rejected! “Within a few days, although no one called for a general strike, France [had] been practically paralyzed by work stoppage and factory occupations. And all because the students took control of the streets in the Latin Quarter.” (The French Student Revolt: the Leaders Speak, Jean-Paul Sartre) ; The students’ concerns acted as a detonator, and forced unpoliticized students to confront the problem of power. “Later on, the movement spread to the workers as a whole, and the university problem...was integrated in a com- mon struggle.” (The French Student Revolt: the Leaders Speak, Alain Geismar, p.29) ; This struggle happened during a year when stu- dents the world over were protesting the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War. The French students’ protests took on their school, allied themselves with people all over the country, and managed to change the way the gov- ernment acted. : This is something to ponder as we drink our lattes, wander by the water, and vent to our friends. We could use our frustration with the structure of our school to change it. Thence in painting we renounce colour as a pictorial ele- ment, colour is the idealized optical surface of objects; an exterior and superficial impression of them; colour is accidental and it has nothing in common with the inner- most essence of a thing. we affirm that the tone of a substance, i.e. its light-absorbing material body is its only pictorial reality. We renounce in a line, its descriptive value; in real life there are no descriptive lines, description is an acciden- * tal trace of a man on things, it is not bound up with the essential life and constant structure of the body. Descriptiveness is an element of graphic illustration and decoration. We affirm the line only as a direction of the static forces and their rhythm in objects. We renounce volume as a pictorial and plastic form of r space; one cannot measure pace in volumes as one can- not measure liquid in yards: look at our space ... what is it if not one continuous depth? We affirm depth as the only pictorial and plastic form of space. . Influx? Magazine February 1999 25 The Power of the Student Voice: Looking back at the French Academic Revolution of 1968 by: Bernadette Wycks, Imagine that you've taken the last bite of your crossant. Imagine you're warming your hands against the heat of your cafE-o-lait. Imagine that you sit in a drafty café, and, in between sips, talk to your friends about your problems ft school and how they are mirrored in society around you. ‘You speak of challenges io class size of instructor account- ability of the worth of training in a higher truth, a higher aes- thetic, when you don’t see it reflected around you. You feet the frustration of your friends rising as your own does: not knowing what to do, o how to get beyond the educational ‘quagmire in which you find yourselves. Tmagine that you wrap your scarf around your neck, slap hat on your head, and walk with your friends down by the water. You walk your frustration out of your body as you talk into the night. The city lights reflect tion inthe black, bobbing water. ‘Oh, yeah! Imagine, too, that you speak French “Cuz thirey years ago university student in Paris and all of France revolted. In the Sixtcs, sores of students, faculty and gov- ‘ermental administrators knew things had to change. The ‘universities were very dependent on the Ministry of National Education, Constant consultation was needed to make rudi mentary decisions. The individual faculties within the school structure “had atained such monstrous proportions thatthe “university itself had lost all reality and appearance of unity (The Elusive Revolution, Raymond Aron, p xii). Students had to complete competitive, national examinations, which lead to uniformity in education, but were “hardly conducive to peda- sgogic or intelleetual Jnnovation.” (Ibid. px) The whole university strueture was seen to be ‘maladapted to its eco- ‘nomic and social func tions, in research as wel as in education, Seventy per cent of people who attended French univer ‘ities didn’t complete theie courses. And of those who did graduate, ‘many were unemployed. (The French Student Revolt the Leaders Speak, Alain Geismar, p.29) ‘The govern- ment of Charles de Gaulle tried to offer ‘band-aid solutions with the ‘Fouchet plan.’ The curriculum ofthe schools would be renewed, There would also be an installation of a university structure adapted to short-term growth of giant business firms able to manufacture middle class ‘cadres’ through tech- nical institutes. The French schools would stl be able to compete with the American system by “holding open the noble, royal road forthe training of research workers.” (Ibid, p3l) ‘But this ‘band-aid’ was notable to contain the “boil that was bubbling to burst “The struggle began in September 1967, at [Nanterre a ramshackle, tumbling-down residence ofthe CONSTRUCTIVISM fo) 7 “Within a few days, France [had] been practically paralyzed by work stoppage and factory occupations. And fall because the students took control of the streets in the Latin Quarter.” Parisian Sorbonne, i the Latin Quarter. The students didn't think the ‘Fouchet plan’ went far enough. They held a su prise, wildear strike! In the winter, the government tried to set up ‘com= munication’ structures, a geste to supposedly open up an ceducational dialogue. However the students could discuss tverything but the most fundamental issues. Tt was impossi- bie to question the university asa whole, as the discussion twas restricted to one discipline in one faculty ata time Frustration grew The frustration reached out, and touched French factory workers. The students stated to organize with them, and gained support for thee “battle with the bureaucracy "With de Gaulle, capitalism hoped to modernize itself, butt was the working class that was to pay the costs of the opera- tion.” (The French Student Revol: the Leaders Speak, Jean Picrre Duteuil, p.49) In the late 60%, five hundred thousand people were unemployed and the cost of living had risen “Once the economy had reached a certain level of moderniz tion, education had to be modernized too. Education was rationalized to tain technocrats.” (Ibid., p49) So, workers and students stood on common ground and voiced thet cok (On March 22, 1968, 200-250 students occupied the universiy’s administration building. And the protest grew "The government closed the Nanterre building (on the pretext that an almost non-existent [Oceident) fascist group had attacked the faculty). Nanterre students moved on to the Sorbonne fora protest meeting attended by every stu- ‘dent leader. The Rector (equita- lent t9 a dean) ofthe university panicked, and asked for govern ‘mental authority to close the Sorbonne. On Friday, May 3rd, fat 4pm, the police swarmed the Sorbonne, and started swinging at students. “On the pretext that 5 chairs had been broken, they arrested all politieal and trade ‘union representatives ofthe stu ent movement.” (The French ‘Student Revolt: dhe Leaders Speak, ‘Alsin Geismar, p.29) “lf and hour later, ‘every student in the Latin Quarter was doing a dance of resistance with the police. “With no leaders left perfectly spon- taneous and unexpectedly violent ‘demonstration was crushed with unprecedented brutality” (Ibid, p.32) By 10 pm that ‘evening, workers had ordered a general strike, in support of the students “The support swelled, surrounding thousands who were dissatisfied, With the idea of revolution seemingly a core clement of thie psyche, French working people's adic tions ate such that “shen the police beat other people, the workers imagine themselves beside those being massacred Tater on the workers realize thatthe authorities could be rade to retreat a certain distance, and to accept the condi- ‘ions posed be the street demonstrations; and this realization, along with very deep socal unrest, spread and broadlined into fan open struggle” (bid, p32) ‘Naum Gabo and Antoine Pevsner: An excerpt from The Realistic Manifesto (1920) ‘The realization of our perceptions of the world in the forms of ‘space and time isthe only aim of our pictorial and plastic art. In them we do not measure out works with the yardstick of beau- ‘ty we do not weigh them with pounds of tendemess and sent- ments. ‘The plumb-tine in our hand, eyes as precise 2s a rule, in 2 splt- it as taut as a compass. 1. we construct out work as the universe ‘constructs its own, asthe engineer constructs his bridges, as the ‘mathematician his formula ofthe orbits. ‘We know that everything has Its own essential image; chit, ‘able, lamp, telephone, book, house, man .. they are all entire worlds wit their own rhythms, their own orbits. That is why we in creating things take away from them the labels oftheir owners . all accidental and local, leaving only the real- ‘a ofthe constant rhythm of the forces in them. LA POLICE S AFFICHE NIX BEAUX ARTS LES BEAUX ARTS AFFICHENT dons 2 RUE a (On Friday, May 10th, talks broke down between the government and the students, ‘There was a revo in the Latin Quarter. Barricades were erected. A brutal police response followed, ‘The next day, May 11th, the trade union head quarters called for a 24 hour general stride on Monday, May 13th, to protest the repression So, on the 13th the parades of worker, students, and faculty, was estimated at one milion strong. "The nextday. students occupied the Sud Aviation plant at Nanterre. Prime Minister Pompidou requested an lmuesty, The next week, on Monday, May 20th the left ‘wing of parliament demanded the resignation of the govern~ ment, and that general elections be held. On the next Friday, May 24, de Gaulle declared that France would hold a referen ‘dum on more participation in the universities, and that he ‘would resign if were rejected! “Within a few days although no one called for a ‘general strike, France [had] been practically paralyzed by work stoppage and factory occupations. And all because the students took control ofthe strets in the Latin Quarter.” (Tie French Student Revolt the Leaders Speak, Jean-Pavl Sartre) “The students’ concerns acted asa detonator, and forced unpoltcized students to confront the problem of power, “Later on, the movement spread to the workers a¢ a ‘who, and the university’ problem..was integrated in a com- mon struggle” (The French Student Revolt: the Leaders Speak, Alain Geismar, p29) "This strugele happened during a year when stu- dents the world over were protesting the United Stats’ ‘involvement in the Vietnam War. The French students’ protests took on thee schoo, allied themselves with people all over the country, and managed to change the way the gov ernment acted. "This is something to ponder as we drink our lates, wander by the water, and vent to our friends. We could use ‘ur frustration with the structure of our school to change it. eutalong dete toe, photocopy. and excuse ‘oe er Scie wsuanaeen sree Saccciscemcmoeiaet oclarcetooeee cea an ee Sova. ‘only pictorial reality. See hee aioe nel ID stra come teccortant oa "tal trace of a man on things, It Is not bound up with the pa ea alae Siewert Pee ora epr mets Scie alen meseae We renounce volume 2s a pictorial and plastic form of space; one cannot measure pace in volumes 2s one can- ‘not measure liquid in yards: lok at our space what is ‘iif not one continuous depth? We affirm depth as the only pictorial and plastic form of space. 3 Influx? Magazine February 1999 25