Translation of the French article by Jacques Rouchaud
People often think May 68 means Paris, the Sorbonne, the barricades. That is forgetting Nantes.
On 14 May 1968, in Bouguenais, the workers of Sud-Aviation occupied their factory. It was the first occupied factory in France. The next day, others followed, and within a few days the whole country was on general strike.
And in Nantes, it did not stop there. At the end of May, workers, farmers and students united and organised themselves to keep the city alive: supplies, mutual aid, decisions taken together. Some called it the “Nantes Commune”.
Young and old, workers and farmers, together: this is already the spirit of demosciocracy. The people and the trades deciding for themselves, without waiting for the princes of the Republic.
Today, the youth is back in the streets. And the new movement of Nantes will be the start of a new era of quality for all peoples.
Nantes showed the way once. It can do it again.
📷 Photos of May 68 in Nantes, Place Royale: see the archives of the Centre d’histoire du travail de Nantes (Nantes Labour History Centre)
👉 demosciocracy.com
✉️ jacques.rouchaud@me.com
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