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Showing posts from August, 2018

Podcast :1968 in France : Myth, reality and unanswered questions

Podcast :1968  in  France : Myth,  reality and  unanswered questions    France is filled with commemorations of 1968, often by establishment organizations. How can a general strike be commemorated in this way ? This lecture, given for a group of students from the United Arab Emirates, looks at what really happened, and opens up a series of important questions, which we don't always have answers for.  Why did workers support the students ?  Why wasn’t there a civil war ?  Why was Gaullism able to regain control of the situation ?  What did workers and students win ?  Why didn’t it go further ? Why do the French today have an overwhelmingly positive image of the events of 1968?   Click here to listen to the lecture in MP3 form   http://www.jcmullen.fr/1968sorbonnetalkonly.mp3   Key words : 1968, France, Contemporary history, podcast