At the University of Paris at Nanterre, students formed the "Movement of 22 March" after occupying an administration building. The action drew national attention and helped link campus grievances to broader debates about authority, policing, and social change. It is widely treated as a starting point for the May 1968 crisis.
University authorities shut down the Nanterre campus as tensions rose between students and administrators. With Nanterre closed, protests shifted toward central Paris and the Sorbonne, increasing their visibility and political impact. This move helped turn a campus dispute into a national issue.
A student gathering at the Sorbonne led university officials to request police intervention, and mass arrests followed. Violence then broke out in the Latin Quarter as bystanders and students confronted police, building barricades and throwing cobblestones. The Sorbonne’s closure intensified anger and widened support for the protesters.
Large marches and repeated confrontations followed, with hundreds of arrests and injuries as police and demonstrators fought in central Paris. The sense that the state was using excessive force helped the student movement attract sympathy beyond campuses. These clashes set the stage for a major showdown later in the month.
On the night of May 10–11, protesters built dozens of barricades in the Latin Quarter, and police attacked in a long, violent confrontation. Hundreds were injured and hundreds more were arrested, leaving a powerful image of urban conflict. Public outrage after this night helped push trade unions toward broader action.
Major trade union federations called a one-day general strike and demonstrations in support of students and against police violence. The action brought workers and students into the streets together on a large scale. It also showed that labor issues—wages, conditions, and workplace power—could now merge with the political crisis.
After May 13, sit-down strikes and factory occupations began spreading, starting with key sites like Sud Aviation and then major industrial workplaces. The movement quickly became the largest general strike in French history, eventually involving millions of workers and disrupting transport and public services. The government now faced both a political challenge and a severe economic shutdown.
With the strike paralyzing the country, the government, unions, and employers began talks at the Ministry of Social Affairs on Rue de Grenelle. The goal was to find a settlement on pay and union rights that could restart work. These talks became a turning point because they tested whether economic concessions could end a crisis that had become political as well.
The Grenelle package included major wage and minimum-wage increases and steps toward stronger union representation in firms. However, the agreement was widely rejected at workplace meetings, and many strikes continued. The rejection showed that the crisis was not only about pay, but also about legitimacy and power.
On May 29, President Charles de Gaulle briefly disappeared from Paris and went to Baden-Baden in West Germany, where French forces were based. The episode fueled rumors about resignation or a coup, underscoring how unstable the Fifth Republic seemed. De Gaulle returned with renewed confidence that the state could hold together.
In a radio address, de Gaulle announced the dissolution of the National Assembly and new legislative elections. The move aimed to shift the conflict from the streets and workplaces into electoral politics, betting that voters wanted stability. A huge pro-government march on the Champs-Élysées the same day signaled that the balance of momentum was changing.
As the crisis moved into June, authorities used legal powers to dissolve certain radical groups associated with the unrest. These bans signaled a tougher line alongside negotiations and elections. They also showed that the state intended to prevent parts of the movement from reorganizing openly.
France held two rounds of legislative elections, which produced a large victory for the Gaullist governing party and its allies. The result strengthened de Gaulle’s position and helped end the immediate political crisis. It also weakened and divided parts of the parliamentary left, which had struggled to present a united alternative during the upheaval.
Parliament adopted and the state promulgated the Edgar Faure law on higher education after the May–June crisis. The law reorganized universities and aimed to address demands for modernization and broader participation in university governance. It became one of the most direct policy outcomes linked to the 1968 student movement.
In April 1969, de Gaulle put a referendum on regional reform and Senate changes to voters, linking his political future to the result. The proposal was rejected, and he resigned soon after. The outcome is often seen as an extended aftershock of the 1968 crisis, showing that restored order did not guarantee lasting consent.
May 1968 Protests and Political Crisis (1968)