1968: The Global Revolutions

The radical uprisings of May 1968 in Paris resonated around the world. Long the home of such avant garde groups as the Situationist International, as well as the scene of new wave cinema, Paris possessed unique cultural capital for youth around the world. The combination of artistic ferment, bohemian rebellion, and the fleeting possibility that workers’ and students’ movements might combine to topple an imperialist government, gave the movement in Paris an international impact that would come to be de rigueur as the rest of the year unfolded in a series of escalating urban confrontations around the world.