Working-Class Power: What is really worth remembering about May 68 - a talk by Ian Birchall

What is worth remembering of 1968. Most of what is said about 1968 tends to focus on students, posters, graffiti, situationism etc. Ian Birchall will argue that what mattered was the working class, the general strike and the factory occupations. All the rest is froth. He will explore his belief that the Situationist International played no role whatsoever in 1968 and is a myth invented subsequently.
Renault Factory Workers and StudentsThe Renault factory in Boulogne-Billancourt is famous as the place where the factory occupations of the 1936 Popular Front got started. Again in 1968, the workers of Boulogne-Billancourt seized their factory during the May Events. As soon as the students learned of the seizure a march was organized from the Sorbonne to the factory. This picture from Paris Match shows the scene at the factory as the marchers arrived. The workers are visible on the roof of the building, the students below in the street. Together they sang the Internationale and cheered each other on.