The French movement in 1968 was, to a considerable degree, fueled by satire. De Gaulle was such a caricature of himself. He really made himself an easy target for witty revolutionaries.
MK: You know, I've been thinking about that. My Italian publisher asked me to write an introduction to their edition, and I've been wondering why the world paid so much attention to, and remembered, the French movement, but not the Italian movement? The Italian movement did more over a longer time; they shut down Italy, they lasted longer, but they didn't have de Gaulle as a foil.
I mean, you know, there is no Left in France anymore. There's no anything because they're all bored with their leaders. But de Gaulle, whom you could criticize for many, many things, was not boring. He just could really piss you off. Read more...
