History - May 1968: Year 9 French Activity 3
Target Audience: Year 9 students studying French
Key Concepts: May 1968, social history, political movements.
Background Knowledge: Students need never have studied this subject before. This is a significant
event in contemporary history and students should be encouraged to see it within the broader
climate of cultural and political issues of the sixties (e.g the Cultural Revolution in China, the riots in
Germany and Italy after those in Paris, the Prague Spring and the Civil Rights movement in the US).
Students should also be encouraged to see how May 68 is not a dead event of the past but one that
had substantial ramifications and remains a debated political issue. As the linguistic tasks are not
always easy in this unit, students should be encouraged to supplement their knowledge by reading
about this period of history in English (for example, the Wikipedia site on May 1968 provides
accurate information for background reading).
Resources: see online resources provided throughout. These are on art work from the period and
their political messages. We also listen to a radio broadcast by NPR on the topic and an extract from
a speech by the former President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy. The song provided, ‘La Révolution’
dramatises the clash between the young and older generations and is a fun song to learn and sing in
class.
Outcome: As well as having a general understanding of May 1968 in Paris, students will have
answered language and comprehension questions. They can then present their work in the form of a
presentation, a poster or their own video clip. Students will be introduced to analysing political
artwork and understanding the differing perspectives of the events and legacy of 68. This unit will
also provide them with an overview of some sociopolitical worldviews (such as Communism).
Helpful Hints: This activity can be used across 3 classes, (NPR broadcast and activity 1, A, B, C;
posters and activity 2 (for A, students can be put into groups and assigned particular posters to work
on) and activity 3 on the political speech and the song (A and B).
Going Further: Students can explore the range of slogans and posters further. Documentaries and
films on 68 may also be of interest. Chris Marker’s Le Fond de l’air est rouge, in English called, ‘A Grin
Without a Cat’ outlines political upheavals in the sixties and seventies. Clips of this 3 hour feature
documentary are available on youtube.
(Key : Teachers and online activities)
Activity 1
Listen to the following broadcast about May 1968 from an American radio station, NPR.
This is from 2008 (so when they say Nicolas Sarkozy is the President of France this was true then, but
of course, now, since May 2012, it is François Hollande).
The broadcast is in English, but the following comprehension questions are in French.
Online resource:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90330162
A. Remplissez les blancs:
Charles de Gaulle, police, étudiants, grève générale, répressive, conservatrice, de la Sorbonne, les
ouvriers, le lieu de travail, étudiants, l’héritage, la famille
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
……. était le Président de la République.
A cette époque la société était…………. et……….
Les étudiants ont occupé l’université ……………
Il y avait des affrontements entre……… et ………..
Les……… et les………… se sont unis et ont manifesté ensemble.
La France a vécu la plus importante …………. de l’histoire de la Ve République.
Souvent, les gens de la droite critiquent ………. du mai 68 et les valeurs qu’il a incarnées.
Selon l’entretien ‘toutes les institutions, …….., l’université, ….. et le couple ont été
transformés’.
B. Trouvez les expressions dans leur version originale:
Under the cobblestones, the beach!
Be realistic, ask for the impossible
Marxiste, tendance Groucho
Soyez réaliste, demandez l’impossible
Marxism*, Groucho Version
Sous le pave, la plage!
*Marxism
Communism is a socialist movement to create a classless, stateless social order structured upon
common ownership of the means of production, as well as a social, political and economic system
that aims at the establishment of this social order. Marxism (named after Karl Marx who wrote The
Communist Manifesto (1848) is a form of communism advanced by Marx and Friedrich Engels. The
joke in this slogan is playing on the idea of Marxism as a revolutionary communist movement and the
name Groucho Marx (1890-1977) who was an American comedian and film and tv star (he featured
with his siblings, ‘The Marx Brothers’). The slogan therefore tries to suggest that Marxism as a
political movement can also be entertaining, amusing and unthreatening.
C. Voici d’autres expressions. Essayez de les traduire!
1. II est interdit d’interdire
2. Le patron a besoin de toi, tu n’as pas besoin de lui
3. L’imagination prend le pouvoir!
Activity 2
In the last activity, you translated some of the slogans adopted by the protesters. Let’s have a look at
some of the posters of the time and unravel their political message.
This clip shows a good range of the posters:
Online resource:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSstvKOQ-n8
You can also see a large number of the posters on this site:
Online resource:
http://achard.info/mai/index.html
A good summary is provided on
Online resource:
http://www.art-for-a-change.com/Paris/paris.html
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A.
13 posters have been selected for analysis. Translate the caption and describe what you think the
poster is trying to convey.
Translation :
Response
The violent repression by the government turned Paris into a battleground. Students and workers
responded to Police by tearing up cobblestones and building barricades to keep the authorities out of
the ‘liberated areas’. Large parts of Paris fell under contemporary control of workers and students.
Huge street battles ensued. This poster suggests that the state was attempting to restore order by
maiming and violently attacking the protesters.
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Translation :
Response
This is a very famous poster of the time. Here we see an image of a face completely covered by
bandages as if it has been savagely attacked. The eyes are whirlpools of pain and fear and a huge
safety pin is placed over the mouth. Is it merely the depiction of a person assaulted by the prophecies
or is it suggesting that if we do not protest we will be but damaged, muted and apathetic beings ? Is
the pin there to keep the band-aids in place or to hold the person’s tongue from articulating anything ?
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Matraquer- bludgeon
Translation :
Response
This again is referring to police brutality but in a defiant spirit states that although they may crush
people physically, they cannot destroy the spirit of the protesters. They cannot conquer the creativity
and vitality of individuals.
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Translation :
Response
Another poster encouraging the people to stand up against the repressive regime (police and bosses).
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Translation :
Response
This poster warns people that the media is not to be trusted. It depicts it as a poison.
The State television (ORTF) and radio channels often presented a particular view of the situation which
the protesters saw as a biased and deceitful account of the real events.
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Translation:
Response
Is this poster poking fun at a self-censored press that sides with the government and offers people
false "Free Information"? Or does it sugesst that a free press is being held hostage and needs to be
rescued ? Note that the cord on the microphone is tied in a knot, implying that reliable news
reporting is being cut off.
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Translation :
Response
This poster reminds the viewer that everyone is concerned in the struggle and shows workers and
students united in their protest. The agressive finger pointing makes the viewer feel he cannot sit
at a comfortable distance away from the events which are unfolding in the city.
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Translation :
Response
This conveys the workers’ struggle. The poster encourages a militant plan of action in opposition to
corporate control and encourages workers to occupy their workplaces. The factory building has
been reduced to a chimney which is used to make up the word ‘oui’. A companion poster existed
which showed a cigar of a boss as the smoking chimney. Across this poster was the word ‘no’, a
definitive rejection of a workplace not under the control of the worker.
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Translation:
Response
This two panel cartoon encapsulates socialist philosophy as there is portrait of a capitalist greedily
filling his pockets when he has not contributed anything towards the creation of wealth.
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Translation:
Response
This poster shows how the government/boss (represented by the man in the middle) is trying to
divide French people against foreigners, realizing that a united front would be a threat to them. This
poster therefore encourages ‘Workers’ of all colours and creeds to unite in a common struggle.
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Translation:
Response
This poster parodies the school system that makes pupils learn by rote and endlessly copy out
grammar, rather than encouraging creativity and free thought, and also points to the fact that while
everyone collectively participates in society, ‘ils’ they (the bosses and leaders) are the ones that
profit from this.
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Translation:
Response
This witty poster is saying that we need not fear ‘red’ (i.e. Communism and Communist ideology).
Red can be feared by bulls who will charge (or police ready to attack) but the public should not be
made to fear it.
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Translation :
Response
This suggests that those going back to a normal way of life are like sheep. Since it was felt by many
striking students and workers that their strikes should continue until the conservative government
fell. This image mocked those who sought to end the strikes and return as quickly as possibe to
normal.
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Activity 3
The NPR broadcast mentioned that Right Wing (Conservative) parties often lament the values of
1968 and blame them for France’s problems.
Let us listen to Nicolas Sarkozy, former President of France and head of the Right party UMP, and
hear how he, in 2007 in his campaign, tears apart the revolutionary spirit and successes of 68 and
rather blames it for ‘moral relativism’ and the problems in the French school system.
Online resource:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1vji0_sarko-et(0-2.00).
The transcript is provided so you can follow it while listening. I have also provided a translation with
gaps.
A. Fill in these gaps by translating the parts in bold in the French.
Mai 68 nous avait imposé le relativisme intellectuel et moral. Les héritiers de mai 68 avaient imposé
l'idée que tout se valait, qu'il n'y avait donc désormais aucune différence entre le bien et le mal,
entre le vrai et le faux, entre le beau et le laid. Ils avaient cherché à faire croire que l'élève valait le
maître, qu'il ne fallait pas mettre de note pour ne pas traumatiser les mauvais élèves, qu'il ne fallait
surtout pas de classement. La victime comptait moins que le délinquant. Ils avaient cherché à faire
croire qu'il ne pouvait exister aucune hiérarchie des valeurs. Il n'y avait d'ailleurs plus de valeurs, plus
de hiérarchie, ils avaient réussi, il n'y avait plus rien du tout, et eux-mêmes, ce n'était pas grandchose... Ils avaient proclamé que tout était permis, que l'autorité c'était fini, que la politesse c'était
fini, que le respect c'était fini, qu'il n'y avait plus rien de grand, plus rien de sacré, plus rien
d'admirable, plus de règle, plus de norme, plus d'interdit. Beau résultat en vérité. Souvenez-vous du
slogan de mai 68 sur les murs de la Sorbonne : "Vivre sans contrainte et jouir sans entrave." Voyez
comment l'héritage de mai 68 a liquidé l'école de Jules Ferry qui était une école de l'excellence, du
mérite, du respect, une école du civisme, une école qui voulait aider les enfants à devenir des
adultes et non à rester de grands enfants, une école qui voulait instruire et non infantiliser, parce
qu'elle avait été construite par de grands républicains qui avaient la conviction que l'ignorant n'est
pas un homme libre.
May 68 had forced upon us an intellectual and moral relativism. Those influenced by May 68 had
forced upon us the idea that everything is of equal value, that since then there is no difference
between …………………………………………. They have tried to make us believe that the pupil is at the same
level as the teacher, that we should not give grades so as not to traumatize bad pupils, that, above all
we should not rank them. The victim is less important than the offender. They had tried to make us
believe that that no hierarchy of values can exist. What is more there are no longer any values as far
as they are concerned, no more hierarchy, they have succeeded, there is no longer anything at all,
and not so many of them around either. They had proclaimed that everything is possible,
…………………………………………. What a success, no? Do you remember the slogan of May 68 on the
walls of the Sorbonne; ‘Live without restraint and enjoy pleasure without limits’. You see how the
heritage of May 68 has liquidated Jules Ferry’s school system which was a school
……………………..because it has been built by great republicans who had the conviction that an ignorant
person is not free.
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Background Information:
Moral Relativism- a belief that nobody is objectively right or wrong and that we ought to tolerate the
behavior of others even when we disagree about the morality of it.
Jules Ferry (1832-83) was a French statesman and Republican. He was responsible for important
policies on education in France and was a pioneer for the free, compulsory secular state education
system.
Let’s listen to the song called ‘La Révolution’ by the singer Evariste which you heard in activity 2 with
the youtube clip on the posters. The song dramatises a conversation between father and son with
the son explaining why he wants to revolt, only to be met with incomprehension by the conservative
father.
You can listen to the song here :
Online resource:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mmmjk-A0qEU
B. The transcript is provided so you can follow it while listening. A translation with gaps is also
available.
SONG
Le père Legrand dit à son p'tit gars:
"Mais enfin bon sang qu'est-ce qu'y a?
Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire dans la rue fiston?"
- J'vais aller faire la révolution
Father Legrand says to his little boy:
"Goddamn, what is wrong?
What are you going to do in the streets, sonny?"
"I'm going to start the revolution."
"Mais sapristi bon sang d'bon sang
J'te donne pourtant ben assez d'argent"
-Contre la société d'consommation
J'veux aller faire la révolution
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La Révolution! La Révolution!
"But, heavens, god damn, god damn,
I give you enough money!"
" It’s against the society of consumption
that
I want to start the revolution."
The Revolution! The Revolution!
"Mais enfin j't'a payé l'école
C'est pourtant pas des fariboles"
-On n'nous apprend qu'des insanités
Et on nous empêche de contester
"But I've paid for your school.
That’s not nothing, you know."
"They only teach us stupid things
And they prevent us from questioning things."
"Ah si tu travailles comme ça j'ai peur
Qu'tu passes pas dans la classe supérieure"
-Les différences de classe nous les supprimerons
C'est pour ça qu'on fait la révolution
La Révolution! La Révolution!
Ah, if you keep working like that, I'm afraid,
That you won’t make it into the higher class."
"We will dispense with class differences.
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It's why we're starting the revolution."
The Revolution! The Revolution!
"Enfin tu vas pas sortir maintenant
Regarde dehors c'est plein d'agents !"
-Non papa c'est des CRS
Et j m'en vas leur botter les fesses
"But you’re not going to go out right now
Look outside --it's packed with cops!"
"No, Dad, it's the CRS
(French Riot Police)
And I'm going to go kick their asses!"
"Mais voyons fiston n'vois-tu pas
Que c'est les Rouges qui sont derrière tout ça"
-Oh papa j't'en prie, tu déconnes
Laisse la peur du rouge aux bêtes à cornes
C'est la Révolution! La Révolution!
"But look, sonny, don't you see
That it's the Reds who are behind everything here?"
"Oh, Dad, please, you're talking rubbish,
Leave the fear of red to beasts with horns."
It's the Revolution!
The Revolution!
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"Mais enfin explique-moi mon p'tit
Qu'est-ce qu'y raconte ce Cohn-Bendit"
- Y m'a fait comprendre que t'étais con
Et moi j'veux faire la révolution
La Révolution ! La Révolution!
"Then explain to me, my young fellow,
Tell me about that Cohn-Bendit."
(Daniel Cohn-Bendit was a student leader of the protest in 68 and became a symbol of the student
revolt).
"He’s helped me see that you're an idiot,
And as for me, I want to start the revolution."
The Revolution! The Revolution!
Answer Key
A.
Charles de Gaulle, police, étudiants, grève generale, repressive, conservatrice, de la Sorbonne, les
ouvriers, le lieu de travail, étudiants, l’héritage, la famille
… Charles de Gaulle …. était le Président de la République.
A cette époque la société était……… repressive …. et………. conservatrice
Les étudiants ont occupé l’université … de la Sorbonne …………
Il y avait des affrontements entre…… étudiants,… et … police ……..
Les……, étudiants … et les…… les ouvriers …… se sont unis et ont manifesté ensemble.
La France a vécu la plus importante …… grève generale ……. de l’histoire de la Ve
République.
7. Souvent, les gens de la droite critiquent … l’héritage ……. du mai 68 et les valeurs qu’il a
incarnées.
8. Selon l’entretien ‘toutes les institutions, , le lieu de travail l’université, …la famille.. et le
couple ont été transformés’.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Trouvez les expressions dans leur version orignale:
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B.
Under the cobblestones, the beach!
Be realistic, ask for the impossible
Marxism*, Groucho Version
Marxiste, tendance Groucho
Soyez réaliste, demandez l’impossible
Sous le pave, la plage!
C.Voici d’autres expressions. Trouvez des traductions:
1. II est interdit d’interdire - It is forbidden to forbid
2. Le patron a besoin de toi, tu n’as pas besoin de lui- The boss needs you, you don’t need him
3. L’imagination prend le pouvoir! Imagination takes control!
2.
A.Posters
Translation: Order Reigns
Translation: A young girl disturbed by thinking too often of the future
Translation : We cannot beat up /bludgeon/attack imagination
Translation : Down with repression by the bosses and the police
Translation : The Press, Not to be swallowed
Translation : Free Information
Translation : Workers, Students, This concerns you all
Translation : Yes, Occupied Factories
Translation The Boss needs you, you don’t need him
Translation : Workers, French and Immigrants United
Translation : I /you he/she/we/you particpate, they profit
Translation : Leave fear of red to horned animals
Translation : Return to normal
3. A.
May 68 had forced upon us an intellectual and moral relativism. Those influenced by May 68 had
forced upon us the idea that everything is of equal value, that since then there is no difference
between ……good and evil, truth and falsehood, the beautiful and the ugly… They had tried to make
us believe that the pupil is at the same level as the teacher, that we should not give grades so as not
to traumatize bad pupils, that, above all we should not rank them. The victim is less important than
the offender. They had tried to make us believe that that no hierarchy of values can exist. What is
more there are no longer any values as far as they are concerned, no more hierarchy, they have
succeeded, there is no longer anything at all, and not so many of them around either. They had
proclaimed that everything is possible, … that authority is gone, politeness no longer exists, that
respect no longer exists, that there is no longer anything that is important, sacred or admirable
left, no more rules, regulations and nothing forbidden….What a success, no? Do you remember the
slogan of May 68 on the walls of the Sorbonne; ‘Live without restraint and enjoy pleasure without
limits’. You see how the heritage of May 68 has liquidated Jules Ferry’s school system which was a
school ……of excellent standards, based on merit, respect, a civic school, a school that wanted to
help children become adults and not remain little kids…because it has been built by great
republicans who had the conviction that an ignorant person is not free.
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