1968: The Global Revolutions

From 1954 to 1962, the Algerian National Liberation Front fought a war of independence against France. The protracted conflict was characterized by guerrilla warfare, terrorism, and the use of torture by both sides. Describing the Algerian Revolution as “By the people and for the people” on an English-language magazine cover was a means to render the Algerian struggle for freedom in familiar terms. Students and leftist organizations around the world vocally supported the Algerian cause. Disillusionment with the French government, especially its decolonization debacles, carried into the later 1960s, contributing to the events of 1968.