Abidor - May made me: an oral history of the 1968 uprising in France

May Made Me

An Oral History of the 1968 Uprising in France

Mitchell Abidor

This edition 2018 AK Press (Chico, Oakland, Edinburgh, Baltimore)

ISBN: 978-1-84935-310-6

E-ISBN: 978-1-84935-299-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017947342

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Copyright Mitchell Abidor 2018

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People say about me: Youre someone who made May, and I answer that its May made me.

Thierry Porr

Ce quil avait vu, tait-ce une bataille? Et en second lieu, cette bataille, tait-ce Waterloo?

Stendhal, La Chartreuse de Parme

I would like to thank all those who participated in this project, as well as those who made it possible. Jean-Pierre Duteuil (who I never had the opportunity to meet), Helen Arnold, Sebastian Budgen, Yves Coleman, Lou Marin, Marie-Pierre Fournier, Philippe Dubacq, and Christophe Patsy Patillon all assisted me in locating participants willing to be interviewed. Marie-Pierre is owed extra thanks for having located most of the participants in Saint-Nazaire and Nantes, as well as for having hosted me during my stay in the region and providing a home for the interviews.

Space constraints forced me to omit several interviews, and I apologize to those involved. Every person I interviewed brought something new and interesting, and performing this triage was a difficult task. I apologize to Frank Cassenti, Yves Coleman, Helen Arnold, Daniel Blanchard, Eric Hazan, Catherine Lvy, Colette Danappe, Rmi Drouet, Scylla, and Jol Qulard. Transcripts of their interviews can be found at the Marxists Internet Archivewww.marxists.orgin the May 68 archive of the French history section.

I cant speak highly enough of the people I interviewed, of their warmth and generosity; people were generous not only with their time, but with the books and newspapers theyd saved since May 68, feeling these would be more beneficial for this book and its readers than for them.

I would like to thank Jim Brook, for his invaluable editorial assistance. And finally, I thank my wife, Joan Levinson, for her patience during the time spent on this voyage through space and time.

* * *

Note on the interviews: All of the interviews that follow, except that with Jean-Jacques Lebel, were conducted in French. I wanted all of the interviewees to be able to express themselves fully and freely, so even those who speak English told me of their experiences in French. Jean-Jacques, having spent much time in the US, preferred to carry out the interview in English, which he speaks as well as he does French.

Mitchell Abidor