May '68 Revisited

About the Series Opening

The French Library will host a reception to inaugurate the winter/spring series of May ’68 events. Our partners from Harvard and Northeastern universities will be on hand to highlight their activities, events and why they believe the seminal events of 50 years ago remain crucial to examine today. From Northeastern, we will be joined by Uta Poiger, Dean, College of Social Sciences and Humanities; Professor of History, and Mai'a Cross, the Edward W. Brooke Professor of Political Science and associate professor of political science and international affairs. From Harvard, will be joined by Mary Lewis, Robert Walton Goelet Professor of French History, and Virginie Greene, Professor of French in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures.

The evening includes the opening of the photo exhibit “May '68: When Paris Erupted in Protest,” by French photographer Marc Riboud (1923-2016). Riboud, two-time winner of the Overseas Press Club Award and Sony World Photography Lifetime Achievement Award, was known for his beautifully-composed black-and-white photographs and focus on people and places.

About the Exhibition

On May 3, 1968, Parisian students took to the street in protests that spread throughout France, quickly engulfing offices, factories and other places of work. The country came to a near-standstill. This exhibition of works by the late French photographer Marc Riboud reminds us of both the passions of the moment and of the enigmatic playfulness that striking students and workers frequently displayed. The annotated exhibit will provide a timeline of the developments that terminated, unpredictably, with a massive electoral reaffirmation of the government of President Charles de Gaulle.

An advance RSVP is required for this event.