FEATURES ARCHIVE

May of 1968 was a watershed moment in French history. A young, liberal, and frustrated population chose to rise up against the conservative, traditional, and often discriminating practices of the French bureaucracy (particularly found in the education system). A series of student protests, boycotts and strikes ensued. The motto “Question Everything” became the driving force behind the movement, and helped to rally French youth around the collective demand for equality, freedom and human rights. In an attempt to dissuade the uprisings, the de Gaulle government denounced the riots and engaged the police, not realizing that this youth movement was actually a turn away from the government of the time and a turn towards freedom of thought and expression.

The Paris '68 posters, which were displayed throughout the city streets at the height of these most radical times, represent a significant turning point in French social history. They also speak, on a larger scale, to the shift in ideals that ran rampant throughout the rest of the world at the same time. These posters serve as a lasting relic from a time when it was empowering to be young, bold, and full of conviction.