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Abstract
In the great drama that was mai–juin 1968, the police were unquestionably a central actor. In particular, they played a pivotal role in transforming what started out as a relatively minor, student-based rebellion into a nationwide movement that brought the Gaullist regime to the brink of collapse. The 2016 Nuit Debout protest movement drew strong comparisons to the 1968 events, with many wondering whether France stood to experience a repeat of those heady days. This article will argue that the inability of Nuit Debout to capture the imagination of the general public in a similar fashion to what happened in 1968 is not solely the result of the exceptional and divergent contexts. Instead, it will contend that this failure is also to be understood through an appreciation of shifting perspectives on France’s anti-police. Such positive developments, it will be argued, have ironically been shaped as a result of the 1968 events and the manner in which they are most commonly remembered.
Résumé
La police était un acteur indéniablement principal dans les événements de mai–juin 1968 en France. En particulier, ils ont joué un rôle critique dans la transformation d’une crise étudiante, relativement mineur, en un mouvement national qui a poussée le régime gaulliste jusqu’au bord du gouffre. Le mouvement Nuit Debout de Citation2016 a été très souvent comparé aux événements de 1968 avec beaucoup qui se demandaient si la France risquait une répétition de cette crise phare. Cet article avancera l’argument que l’incapacité de Nuit Debout à captiver l’imagination de la population générale de la même façon que mai–juin 68 n’est pas simplement la conséquence des contextes divergents et exceptionnels des deux mouvements. En fait, un tel échec s’explique aussi à travers une appréciation des attitudes changeantes en ce qui concerne la perspective anti-flic en France. De tels développements sont une conséquence inattendue des événements de ’68 et la manière dont ils sont le plus communément souvenus.
Notes
1. A law bringing both bodies together under the control of the interior minister was passed on 3 August 2009. Despite this merger, the long-held characteristics outlined above generally remain in place today.
2. La Loi Travail, presented to parliament by Myriam El Khomri in February 2016, proposed an overhaul of France’s labour code. It aimed to tackle the economic and unemployment woes of France by, among other measures, increasing flexibility, attacking the 35-hour week and facilitating the hiring and firing of employees.
3. An independent publication from la Gauche de la Gauche, founded by reputed film-maker Francois Ruffin in 1999.
4. As evidence of the movement’s multi-faceted and broad output, see their very sophisticated and copiously populated website: https://nuitdebout.fr/.
5. For a comprehensive analysis and discussion of the Nuit Debout movement, see Nuit Debout et Notre Monde, ‘Les Temps modernes’, November–December 2016, No. 691. For a detailed breakdown of the organisation of Nuit Debout and a large sample of its diverse output, see Farbiaz (Citation2016).
6. As in 1968, the media sought to identify certain figures as the ‘leaders’ of the Nuit Debout movement. Activists such as Fréderic Lordon or François Ruffin were often singled out. However, again reflecting the spirit of 1968, such a position of leadership was rejected by those identified. See, for example, Huffington Post (Citation2016).
7. For examples of slogans and graffiti, see appendix of Nuit Debout et Notre Monde, ‘Les Temps modernes’; appendix of Ngo and Truong (Citation2016).
8. A December 2015 CEVIPOF study revealed how over 50% of police and military personnel voted Front national (Sciences Po Citation2015).
9. While such an interpretation remains largely consensual, there has been some research calling into question such a positive reading of this period (Pessis, Topçu and Bonneuil Citation2013).
10. See his New Year address for 1968 at the Institut national de l’audiovisuel (INA) website.
11. See INSEE website.
12. For an indication of the intensity of the encounter between Nuit Debout protestors and the police, see L’Obs (Citation2016), Libération (Citation2016) and Le Monde (Citation2016).
13. The article entitled ‘#Manif14juin …’ is just one example of many such articles (Nuit Bebout 2016)https://nuitdebout.fr/blog/2016/06/17/manif14juin-violence-demesuree-de-la-part-des-forces-de-lordre-deliberement-planifiee/.
14. For example, the period between 1906 and 1910 witnessed a wave of significant strike movements by miners, teachers, metalworkers, vineyard owners and rail workers that were frequently met by repressive and violent state response (Sowerwine Citation2009, 81–83).
16. See Alliance police nationale (Citation2016).
17. Droit d’Inventaire (Citation2008).
18. Droit d'Inventaire (Citation2008).
19. The positive interpretation and tone of the 2008 Droit d’Inventaire are further evidence of this.
20. This is, of course, not the case: there were up to six deaths directly related to the events of 1968. However, the dominant narrative tends to focus on the success of Grimaud and his police in keeping deaths to such a low level (see, for example, Le Goff Citation1998, 103–123).
21. See Le Monde (Citation2008).http://www.lemonde.fr/le-monde-2/article/2008/05/16/la-lettre-de-maurice-grimaud-aux-policiers_1046120_1004868.html#4CMfM8oTrMZOMlkG.99
22. For this survey, 505 questionnaires were completed by students of different levels and in a range of departments from the following higher education establishments: Université Rennes 2; Université de Haute Alsace; Université de Poitiers; Université Paris 12; Université de Corse, Pasquale Paoli; Université March Bloch – Strasbourg; Université de Pau et des Pays de L’Adour; ENITIAA – Nantes; Université François Rabelais – Tours; Université de Bretagne Occidentale – Brest; Université de Reims – Champagne-Ardenne; Université de Provence Aix-Marseille 1; Université Blaise-Pascal – Clermont-Ferrand; Université d’Angers; Université du Sud – Toulon-Var; and Université Jean Moulin – Lyon 3.
23. For a breakdown and analysis of the complete survey results, see Reynolds (Citation2011, 53–78).