Within days of brutal police repression of student demonstrations, 10 million French workers are on strike. Factories occupied, red flags flown, the Internationalé ringing out in the streets of Paris. Even the armed forces are infected by the revolutionary mood. The future of French capitalism hangs in the balance.
Cynics imagine that revolutionary upheavals such as these simply do not take place in the West, that the working class and young people here are unwilling to fight. But May 1968 saw what has been described as the greatest general strike in history break out in the heart of Europe.
Come and join members of the Brighton and Hove branches to find out about the events of that year. What caused this mighty explosion of workers' and students' anger? Why did it not succeed in overturning capitalism? Could history have taken a different course? And could this happen again, today?
Our guest speaker is Clare Doyle, a member of the Committee for a Workers' International and author of 'France 1968: month of revolution' having visited France during that year.
Meet at 2pm Saturday 17 May, Phoenix Centre, Pheonix Place, Brighton. (See map in the left-hand column). Come along and join the discussion. Everyone is welcome.
