Notwithstanding a certain domestic discontent, the sudden explosion of May 1968 took everyone by surprise. Beginning with protests against the paternalistic nature of the education system by students at the University of Nanterre, the movement of revolt rapidly spread to the Sorbonne and out into factories and offices.On the night of May 10, barricades went up in the streets of the Quartier Latin in Paris, and the CRS (riot police) responded by wading into everyone, including bystanders and Red Cross volunteers, with unbelievable ferocity. A general strike followed, and within a week more than a million people were out, with many factory occupations and professionals joining in with journalists striking for freedom of expression, doctors setting up new radically organized practices and so forth. Autogestion – workers' participation – was the dominant slogan, and more than specific demands for reform, there was a general feeling that all French institutions needed overhauling. De Gaulle seemed to lose his nerve and on May 27 he vanished from the scene. It turned out he had gone to assure himself of the support of the commander of the French army of the Rhine. On his return he appealed to the nation to elect him as the only effective barrier against left-wing dictatorship, and dissolved parliament. The frightened silent majority voted massively in his favour. Although there were few short-term radical changes (except in education), the shock waves of May 1968 continued to be felt over the next two decades. Women's liberation, ecology groups, a relaxing of the formality of French society, a lessening of authoritarianism – all these can be traced to the heady days of May.
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