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Documents from May 1968

Documents from May 1968

Monthly Archives: September 2014

Flyer – “The Fist of No Return/The Point of No Return” (19th May 1968)

23 Tuesday Sep 2014

Posted by biffbang in Flyer, May 13-19 1968, Poster

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De Gaulle

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“The Fist of No Return/The Point of No Return”

(May 19)

Personally I like puns – but puns in other languages are strange things indeed. To understand this flyer you need to know that in French “poing” (fist) and “point” (point) sound identical.

So this image of a revolutionary fist punching De Gaulle in the face both illustrates what the majority of the protesters in May 68 would like to see happen (whether metaphorically or literally!), and spells out that that things have progressed too far to go back to normal.

Red-brown offset flyer

13.5cm x 20cm

Documented in:
Mai 68 p.26; Gasquet p.29 ; Dobson #24 ; Peters #111+223 ; Beauty #155 ; Camard #148a ; Mesa p53; Wlassikoff p.26; Beauty #155 + 18b

Online Reference:
BNF
Zurich Museum of Design

(see Sources page for full details of references)

Tract – “AND NOW TO THE FACTORIES!” (7th May 1968 – UJC(ml) & ‘Servir le Peuple’)

21 Sunday Sep 2014

Posted by biffbang in May 6-12 1968, Servir le Peuple, Tract, UJC(ml)

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workers

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(Translated in Schnapp Document 40)

AND NOW
TO THE FACTORIES!

Call to action by the UJC(m-l) and “Serve the People” Clubs

Anger is rumbling among the masses. A million out of work. Starvation wages. Fascist repression at Dassault Citroën, Simca, and in many other plants. The CRS against workers’ and peasants’ demonstrations in Le Mans, Radon, and Caen.

For several months now, popular revolts have been breaking out against the employers and Gaullism.

Everywhere the reformist party machines, the revisionist leadership of the PCF, and the bureaucratic leadership of the CGT have striven to break the mass movement in Rhodiaceta, at Schwartz-Hautmont, Aluvac, the ceramic factories of Alès, and in many other places. But more and more the CGT and the PCF organizers have been checkmated and unmasked by the mass movement. More and more the masses are becoming conscious of these maneuvers which aim at crushing the class struggle in the factories in order to canalize action in favor of reformist objectives and, above all, of parliamentary debates.

On the occasion of student demonstrations, with violent police repression, popular pressure made itself felt: on Monday and especially Tuesday, workers and young laborers came to demonstrate in the steets with the students. This worker participation reflects the deep-seated anger that exists among the broad masses of the working class against Gaullism, which is a regime of unemployment and misery, and against revisionism, which is a reactionary trick for demobilizing
the masses.

The masses want to fight against Gaullism.

On the question of street demonstrations, their slogans, and their itineraries: from now on we must take up the fight against the obstacles erected by the reformlsts, we must help the masses to overcome these and to clear a way towards the revolutionary class struggle.

Three reactionary forces have leagued together in order to repress and check the revolutionary mass movement.

Gaullism has repeatedly hurled its aggressive troops against the populace, the students, and the workers.

The social democrats (PSU, SFIO, Trotskyites, and the executive commlttee of the UNEF) were quick to try to turn the student movement to account. Their goals are to keep the students isolated from the working class and limit the movement to reformist objectives: “structural reforms for the University, openings for young cadres, etc. These objectives are reflected in the reactionary political line followed these past days by the UNEF officers: at all costs keep the students in the Latin Quarter, limit slogans to absurd student demands, incapable of uniting students with the broad masses of workers and peasants.

The revisionists of the PCF and of the CGT leadership began by brutally attacking the student movement, revealing their true counter-revolutionary nature. The anger of the masses exploded against these traitors, who are police accomplices. Frightened, they have retreated a bit and rallied to the operation of their social democratic friends to limit the movement’s objectives to the three points laid down by the UNEF officers. That is, the revisionists pretend that the workers are demonstrating for academic freedoms.

This is not true: the workers are demonstrating because they want to fight against Gaullism, a regime of unemployment and misery, because they want to make an end to repression. One flag only can unite the broad masses of workers, poor peasants, and students:

The overthrow of Gaullism.
The conquest of freedom for the broad masses of the people.
Control over the exploiters

Let us sweep away the reformist slogans, which are purely academic, as well as the small revisionist and social democratic groups who are working together in an attempt to prevent us from having access to the masses of the people and to the revolution!

We must leave the bourgeois neighborhoods, which are not our concern. We must go to the factories and to the working class neighborhoods to join with the workers.

DOWN WITH GAULLISM

FREEDOM FOR THE MASSES OF THE PEOPLE!

UJC (m-l) , Cercles “Servir le Peuple” Tuesday, May 7, 1968.

Poster – “The Struggle Continues” (20/29th May 1968 – Atelier Populaire)

21 Sunday Sep 2014

Posted by biffbang in Atelier Populaire, May 20-26 1968, Poster

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workers

IMG_0038.JPG

The Struggle Continues


(20/29 May 1968 – Atelier Populaire)

Brown-black screen-print on salmon paper


38.5cm x 56.5cm

Documented in:
Gasquet p. 188; Beaubourg #185; Imagination #13; Wlassikoff p.84; Camard #39bis; Camard #67; Artcurial #363; Dobson #174, UUU p. 18, Les Affiches #29+30; Peters #103 ; Beauty #11; Mesa p83 ; Murs #133

Online References:
ENSBA # 10522
BNF
Zurich Museum of Design

Poster – “Yes to Participation” (Atelier Populaire)

16 Tuesday Sep 2014

Posted by biffbang in Atelier Populaire, Poster

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Atelier Populaire

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Yes to Participation
(Atelier Populaire ex-Beaux Arts)

There’s no doubting the strength of the message here! Surprisingly this is one of only a handful of ‘rude’ images used on posters – given these were students after all, that’s a bit odd.

This is the only poster that I have a copy of that I can find no information on. It isn’t illustrated in any of the books I’ve seen. If anyone has any info please get in touch via the comments

On the reverse of the paper there is some computer code printed, so it may have come from the Facilite des Sciences. Though as you can see it is stamped Atelier Populaire ex-Beaux Arts (though in a style of stamp I’ve not come across before – again any info is more than welcome!)

Dark blue screen-print on paper (stamp of the ‘Atelier Populaire ex-Beaux Arts’ on bottom right)

18.5cm x 27.5cm

Online References:
Zurich Museum of Design

Tract – “The Struggle Continues” (10th May 1968 – Comités d’Action du 3 Mai)

15 Monday Sep 2014

Posted by biffbang in Comites d'Action, May 6-12 1968, Tract

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Comites d’Action, May 10, Students

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(Translation from Schnapp – Document 50)

FRIDAY 6 P.M. THE ACTION COMMITTEES

THE FIGHT CONTINUES

THE CLOSING OF NANTERRE AND OF THE SORBONNE
REPRESSION IN THE LATIN QUARTER
By Way of answer: MORE AND MORE NUMEROUS DEMONSTRATIONS
ON TUESDAY EVENING 50,000 STUDENTS AND WORKERS MARCHED
as far as the ARC DE TRIOMPHE.

And yet, on Wednesday evening, those who answered the call of the UNEF found themselves inflicted with another traditional meeting. Loudspeakers for the “officials”, jawboning that opened up no perspectives, and to end with, a long walk that finished without explanations with a call for dispersion m spite of the obvious discontent of most of the demonstrators and at the risk of breaking up the movement.

During all this time the press, with shadings and varied tactics, misrepresented the facts, lied about the movements objectives and, as in BERLIN and in ROME . . . tried to pit workers against students.

To avoid the recurrence of a dangerous mistake like that of Wednesday evening at the LUXEMBOURG,
To avoid all other manoeuvres,
To expand our movement,
To deepen and define our objectives,

1) Liberation of university premises and surrounding areas.
2) Liberation of all our comrades still in prison, and annulment of penalties.
3) Annulment of faculty lockouts.
4) Resignation of those responsible for police intrusion into the Sorbonne courtyard: Rector Roche having acted upon the request of Dean Durry.
5) Complete freedom of political expression in the faculties.

In order to popularise our struggle among the workers,

WE MUST ORGANISE : CREATE ACTION COMMITTEES

EVERYBODY TO DENFERT-ROCHEREAU

FRIDAY EVENING 6:30 P.M.

The May 3 Action Committees

Poster – “The Struggle Continues” (6th June 1968 – Atelier Populaire)

14 Sunday Sep 2014

Posted by biffbang in Atelier Populaire, June 3-9 1968, Poster, Worker

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ENSBA, June 6, workers

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“The Struggle Continues”

(June 6 1968 – Atelier Populaire)

Produced around June 5, this poster of a group of workers is one of the most iconic images of May 68. The same image was used on 2 different posters – an earlier one was produced on 20 May with the text ‘Nous somme le pouvoir’ (‘We are the power’ or ‘We are the state’).

Black screen-print on newsprint (stamp of the ‘École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts’ with address on top left)


43cm x 51cm

Documented in:
Gasquet p. 191; Beaubourg #187; Camard #33b; Tchou ; Peters #26 ; Beauty #149 ; Mesa p84 ; Murs #134b; Chartres #52; Paris p46

Online References:
ENSBA #10637
BNF
Bienecke: BrSides Folio 2008 52
Zurich Museum of Design

Poster – “WARNING – The radio lies” (27th May or 5th June 1968 – Ecole des Arts Décoratifs)

13 Saturday Sep 2014

Posted by biffbang in Ecole des Arts Décoratifs, May 27-June 2 1968, Poster

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June 5, May 27, media, ORTF, radio

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“warning- The radio lies”
(May 27 or June 5) – Ecole des Arts Décoratifs

Context
In 1968 the only French-based radio or TV news in France was the state-run broadcaster, the ORTF (Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française) which had a total monopoly on national broadcasting. The only competition was from radio stations like Radio Luxembourg which broadcast into France from neighbouring countries.

From the beginning of May the government put strict controls on the ORTF’s coverage of the events on the streets. Then on May 25 the ORTF workers joined the general strike. From that day onwards the ORTF was run directly by the government – and its news broadcasts lost any remnant of objectivity.

Hence this poster!

Black screen-print on newsprint
46.5cm x 58cm

Documented in: Gasquet p. 120; Beaubourg #87; Wlassikoff p. 100; Camard #175; Artcurial #521; Dobson #78 ; Les Affiches #222; Peters #182 ; Beauty #30 ; Mesa p79 ; Murs #102

Online References:
BNF

ENSBA # 10529

Zurich Museum of Design

(see Sources page for full details of references)

Poster – 5th Republic

13 Saturday Sep 2014

Posted by biffbang in Poster

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5th Republic, De Gaulle

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Context
This poster refers to the overthrow of the Gaullist “5eme Republique” (5th Republic). The “V” on the right-hand side is a roman numeral (for 5, obviously), while the symbol within the “V” is the Croix de Lorraine – symbol of the Gaullist Party (and in WW2 a symbol of Free France).

Green screen-print on semi-gloss paper
44cm x 56cm

Documented in: Beaubourg #57 ; Camard #157b ; Gasquet p.102 ; Beauty #361b ; Chartres #101
(see Sources page for full details of references)

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