"Now I believe in the realistic utopia of a social democracy"

07/06/2018

Henri Weber shows us a copy of his latest book, Rebelle jeunesse (Robert Laffont), where he can be seen on the cover in a photo taken in May 1968. Since that same year, he has written several works on the experience and legacy of the 1968 events in France, of which he was one of the main student leaders. He later became professor in Political Philosophy at the University of Paris VIII, co-founder of the Revolutionary Communist League (LCR), and more recently member of the Party of European Socialists and the European Parliament. On 6 June, at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Weber offered a conference entitled "Un demi siècle après, quel est le bilan de Mai 68?" ["Half a Century After, What is the Evaluation of May 1968?"].

What memories do you have of your participation in the movements of May 1968?

I was part of the team directing the student movement which from 3 to 13 May aimed to organise a face off with the government with the aim of stirring the working classes into action. There already had been many signs from the working class: strikes, demonstrations and highly violent confrontations during 1966 and 1967. Therefore, it is not true that May 1968 came like a ray of lighting out of the blue. We knew that the French working class was at its strongest, both in numbers and in organisation, and there was the will to shake down and conquer the ruling class after ten years of Gaullism, full of austerity and authoritarianism.

How has your perception of May 1968 varied in these past 50 years?

For me, May 1968 was a large social movement. And as all great movements which involve millions of people, it was very heterogeneous. I always say that one must not confuse sea foam with the deepness of the ocean. The sea foam represents left-wing groupuscules. However, the vast majority of people were not Troskyites, Maoists, anarchists or situationists; neither were they "pro-Moscow" communists. Above all, they strived to bring real democracy to the French society and free it in the cultural and political sense of the word. France underwent enormous progress in the economic and technological fields, but in relation to authorities and customs, it was still stuck in the 19th century. This is the contradiction the student movement finally blew up. And many advances were made, such as decriminalising homosexuality and authorising the use of contraceptions and legalising abortions.

What do you consider to be the errors of May 1968?

First, the concept of social transformation and the final objective. I no longer believe our democratic societies, with effective rules of law, must be transformed through violence: general strikes with factories being occupied, face offs with the authorities and, finally, many forms of violence which can end badly. This method is legitimate and often necessary when dealing with dictatorships and tyrannical powers; however, in our old and experienced democracies, the transformation of societies and progress can only be resolved with reforms, laws and elections. The second issue is that I no longer believe in an unattainable utopia of a perfect society, promised by revolutionary Marxism and communism: a classless, stateless society with no poverty, no oppression, no alienation, etc. In other words, a secular version of the celestial paradise. In contrast, I believe in a realistic utopia of social democracy which, in addition, should be of European dimensions.

The general strike led to the Grenelle Agreements. What changes did the university make thanks to May 1968?

We went from an 18th century university, where professors "ruled" over their students and other professors, to a much more modern system of university democracy. In other words, we have a university council, with students, technical and lecturing staff, which elects a president and that person directs the institution. And the university became more interdisciplinary, with less divisions between the disciplines. Moreover, the large master classes with hundreds of students attending were decreasing and instead, there were smaller groups being taught in which students could participate far more.

What you are saying reminds me of the spirit on which the UAB was founded.

Absolutely! My university, Paris VIII, was also founded in 1968, in December. The Minister for National Education Edgar Faure was looking to democratise the university and he created an experimental centre in Vincennes, but with another intention in mind as well: the university is in the middle of the Bois de Vincennes park, some 15 kilometres from Paris. Sending all students and left-wing professors there, far away from any inhabited area, was also a way of controlling the university system of Paris.

What do you think about how the events of May 1968 are remembered?

For the past 50 years it has been a highly controversial topic. The conservatives focus all their hatred on 1968: they believe it is the source of all evil. In contrast, the more left-wing section of the population consider it an important moment of democratic and social conquests. This point of view, in spite of all the propaganda against it, prevails among the population. Two large opinion polls conducted by the top polling companies in France show that seven out of ten people have a good image of May 1968 and believe many of the social and political advances were made then or in the following ten years. And many people consider that a deferred result of those events in 1968 was the victorious unity of the leftist parties in 1981.

What do the French think about the soixante-huitards, the generation of May '68?

They hold them in high esteem. This is the generation of baby boomers, a very numerous generation. It is also very dynamic and active because it was filled with a historic optimism. We had just sent a satellite to orbit the Moon, growth was higher than 5% yearly for thirty years, there was no unemployment and everything seemed possible. And we benefited from relative peace while terror was being balanced out and many new jobs were being created as we passed from being an industrial society to one of knowledge and services. We believed in the saying: where there's a will, there's a way. That also generated a lot of jealousy. [Laughs]

Daniel Bensaïd explains that the two of you hid in the house of Marguerite Duras after the dissolution of the Revolutionary Communist Youth (JCR). What happened?

We knew the JCR would be dissolved as soon as the 1968 events ended, so the secretary of the organisation had a list of sympathisers willing to help and take in our cadres. Marguerite Duras was one of the sympathisers. She housed us in her apartment at Rue Saint Benoît number five. We obviously got along just fine with her. And beneath her apartment was a school. During playtime, the kids didn't play "cowboys and Indians", they played "students and CRS" [CSR, referring to the French police force in charge of maintaining public order]. The poor child who had to play police would call out: "Les cocos à Moscou!" ("Communists, go to Moscow!").

Are you still in contact with any of the people with whom you demonstrated?

Definitely! We spent our post-adolescent and first adult years together doing fantastic things... We, all the old LCR members, get together and have dinner once a year at my house. Despite our differences in opinions: Alain Krivine, with whom I founded the league, continues to act like he did fifty years ago, and I have become a social democrat, but it does not change my feelings.

What similarities and differences do you see between May 1968 and current mobilisations taking place in France?

The similarities are merely formal, because it is a minority and voluntary movement. Only sympathisers of far-left groups are mobilised. But we were overcome with how many people wanted to participate. The May 1968 events was an authentic mass movement involving millions of students and workers. It was spontaneous, it was grassroots; and there was no violent ferment as we see nowadays: anything similar to the black bloc acting against local shops was inconceivable. So there are differences in extension and content.

Is another May 1968 possible?

Not today, but in the future, why not? What is May '68 if not an explosion of struggles in general? That is still possible. But there is a large difference, we are now living a crisis of the future. Due to the deterioration of the great emancipating ideologies of the 19th century, the representation of alternatives to the current order has vanished. The far left does not know how to replace the bourgeois capitalist society. We had a precise idea which was undoubtedly false, but we believed firmly in it. In contrast, now the LCR has given way to the New Anticapitalist Party: they are anticapitalists, but what are the in favour of? We do not know. That is a terrible weakness. The only reason a new May 1968 is improbable is due to the absence of a clear representation of a desirable society capable of substituting the currently existing one.

More information: Faculty of Arts and Humanities