Friday, December 28, 2007

Paris, 1968

"... And then, in the Latin Quarter, the television was there, until midnight, that is. Then there was just the radio, Europe No. 1. And at about three in the morning -- in complete bedlam, there was noise from all directions -- a radio guy handed the microphone to Daniel Cohn-Bendit, who had the brilliant idea of simply saying: "General strike, general strike, general strike." And that was the decisive moment; it was then that there was action. That was what took the police by surprise. That students were making trouble, that there was a little violence, some wounded, tear gas, paving stones, barricades, and bombs -- that was all just the children of the bourgeoisie having a good time. But a general strike, well, that was no laughing matter."
- Henri Lefebvre, "Lefebvre on the Situationists: An Interview." October 79 (Winter 1997), p. 83.

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