The modern left has few more treasured iconic events than the French uprising of May 1968. 10 million workers occupied or walked out of their workplaces in the biggest general strike in European history. Thousands of radical students demanded the end of French capitalism. As barricades were erected across the nation, President Charles de Gaulle flew to Germany to consult with his military advisors. Europe’s rulers looked on with alarm. But what the French call les evenements de mai 1968 is not just an inspiration for today’s emerging anti-Coalition movement. It is a warning from history. From the perspective of the radical left, the uprising was a catastrophic failure.
