Art of the Revolution, May ‘68

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^{A 1968 Paris student riots poster, 1968, a screenprint poster, depciting a stylised riot police officer with a truncheon raised above his head and a shield emblazoned with the Schutzstaffel or 'SS' lettering, printed at the École des Beaux-Arts during the May 1968 Paris student riots (£150-250)}

Baton raised to strike, the menacing silhouette of a gas-masked riot policeman approaches the cowering viewer. Born out of the tumultuous events on the streets of Paris in May 1968 when students and workers joined together in protest to bring France to the brink of revolution, the image embodies violent state control, right-wing intolerance, and the abuse of elected power.

^{A 1968 Paris Student Riot poster, 1968, a screenprint poster, the text reads 'CRS SS', possibly a reference to the CRS riot police at the time and comparing them to the German Schutzstaffel or 'SS', printed at the École des Beaux-Arts during the May 1968 Paris student riots (£150-250)}

The looming baton-wielder is a member of the CRS (compagnies républicaines de sécurité), the special police whose ruthlessness fuelled the taunt “CRS SS” and who were, along with the ageing President Charles de Gaulle, the main targets of the students who occupied the art department at the Sorbonne and produced a flow of lively anti-establishment posters.

De Gaulle was seen by many as anachronistic, a symbol of the old ways of empire and class discrimination, and the students caricatured him until he became just a nose or a military cap. Some posters were simply hand-painted on cheap paper, others were screen-printed; all have a particular style and approach – humorous, grim, inventive, and with a deliberate sense of slapdash that mocked the uptight opposition. Above all, and despite the obvious undertones of violence, they seem optimistic. Their gleeful sarcasm illuminates a youthful belief in the promise of tomorrow.

^{A 1968 Paris Student Riot poster, 1968, a screenprint poster, depicting a stylised Charles de Gaulle with his right arm signalling a Roman salute, printed at the École des Beaux-Arts during the May 1968 Paris student riots (£150-250)}

The political upheaval that took place in the spring and summer of 1968, usually referred to just as May '68, was brought about by left-wing student alliances with workers’ trade unions. Protests and demonstrations continued from March right through into the summer. Universities were occupied by students, then taken by the police, then reoccupied by the students. The biggest demonstration in Paris numbered over a million participants. In factories, workers’ councils were formed, emulating the early days of the Russian Revolution and the Paris Commune.

^{A 1968 Paris student riots poster, 1968, a screenprint poster, the French text reads 'Renault Flins', which possibly may be a reference to the Renault factory located just outside Paris called 'Flins', printed at the École des Beaux-Arts during the May 1968 Paris student riots (£150-250)}

Politicians grew nervous as the country appeared to be edging towards revolution. At one point de Gaulle fled to Germany, only to return the next day, determined to tackle the problem. He dissolved the National Assembly and called a general election. Sympathy for the students and workers was widespread, but the chaos of the previous weeks when communist, Trotskyist, anarchist and all manner of other left-wing groups seemed poised to take control had a strong aversive effect on public opinion. The Soviet Union was a feared entity.

De Gaulle won a landslide victory, and the demonstrations and occupations slowly petered out. It was a triumph for the establishment – if a pyrrhic one for de Gaulle, whose political power would soon end – yet the mythology of that period, the romantic view of the revolutionary, continued to resonate. In Germany it became a foundation stone for the idealistic revolutionaries who formed and joined terrorist organisations in the 1970s, while in Paris the presence of May ‘68 is still palpable in the graffiti and street art of the 21^st century.

^{A 1968 Paris Students Riot poster, 1968, a screenprint poster,  the text translated from the French reads 'The fight continues', printed at the École des Beaux-Arts during the May 1968 Paris student riots (£150-250)}

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