"In Marseilles we remained calm"

the myths and realities of Marseilles's May 68

Anne-Laure Ollivier

pp. 217-230

in: Julian Jackson, Anna-Louise Milne, James Williams (eds), May 68, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011

Abstract

What sort of impact did May 68 have in Marseilles? The many historical accounts of the city make little mention of those weeks of spring 1968. When they are at all mentioned, they are generally portrayed as a non-event: nothing much happened of note in Marseilles in May–June 1968.¹ Yet the city did experience its fair share of strikes and demonstrations, although, unlike the capital, there were no violent street protests. This is indeed surprising for a town reputed to be riotous and disorderly, where in the past acts of political violence, intensified by the Cold War, were relatively common.²