1968: a war in Vietnam, United States imperialism, and the racial divide were all part of the impetus that saw students raising their voices in protests, rallies, and demonstrations around the world. Predating NPR, PBS, and modern public broadcasting, Pacifica Radio was there to record and document the experiences and philosophies of these young people during this tumultuous year. In this episode of From the Vault, we revisit the May 1968 student protests in Paris, France through archival recordings recently digitized from the Pacifica Radio Archives collection.
It began in March of 1968, when students at the University of Paris (among other schools in France) spoke out against class discrimination in French society and the bureaucracy of University funding. By May, in hopes of quelling the student unrest, university officials made moves to close the school — and ordered a massive police mobilization on campus to help see this through. It had quite the opposite effect, as over 20,000 highly-charged students, together with the teachers’ union and other supporters vigorously marched to the school to protest the university’s abrupt closure. A riot ensued as police attacked the advancing protesters with batons and tear gas, and the protesters retaliated by throwing rocks and bottles — setting the stage for a series of events that would nearly bring the French government to its knees.
Today, we feature historic recordings of participants and eyewitnesses to the 1968 Paris student uprising, like National Secretary of the Young Socialist Alliance, Mary Alice Water
PRA metadata view