European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 20, 1968, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes monday May 20, 10 years of resentment being released will France explode like a bursting boiler by Harvey Hudson Paris a prance is liken ancient and overheated boiler with steam hissing from every seam. The big question is will there be an explosion ten years of pent up resent ment against the Strong willed regime of president Charles Degaulle is being released. Stu dents started it the worker followed through and no one knew where it would end. Or How. The movements Are filtering from the Bottom up. Student labor and political leaders Are racing to catch up with their troops. May 13 the three big lab Runions called a general strike and demonstrations to support the rebellious students. The March Drew an impressive Hal million persons but the strike caused hardly a Ripple in the nation s life. Now the situation is Muchmore serious. Trains were stopped Post office worker were caught up in the strike contagion the red Flag flew Overman factories. And the students continued their strike and talk fests in the otherwise deserted University buildings. The walkouts were so spontaneous that no one had time to get a list of demands ready. After More than two weeks on strike and occupation of class rooms the students still weren t agreed on what they wanted. Union leaders were better pre pared they were pulling out their old lists of unsatisfied de mands. The one lesson that seemed to be Foremost in everyone s mind was violence pays. The students fought Pitche Battles with police in the left Bank streets of Paris. Premier Georges Pompidou caved in to their demands. Public opinion seemed solid behind the Stu dents. The workers were impressed but were slow to pick up the Cue. Then they took the strike route. Last tuesday the 2,700 workers at the Sud aviation air plane factory in Nantes locked themselves in and welded the Gates shut to keep police out. Wednesday afternoon about200 Young workers who had gone off shift in the morning at the Renault Plant near Rouen came Back to ask the workers on duty to strike. The work continued. The Young demonstrators stayed in the Plant when the Day shift left and closed the doors. The night shift was unable to get in. By Friday evening All of the six plants of the giant nationalized Renault works employing about 60,000 persons were shut Down. Renault is France s big Gest Industrial employer. The strike was spread Ever wider and wider like Ripples on a Mill Pond from these modes starts. The communist led general confederation of labor Cut France s biggest Union voice met Friday to try to get the movement in hand and extend  socialist workers Force of did t get around to Call ing a National Council until saturday. With an organized Effort the strike capability seemed unlimited in the present mood. A soft speaking girl Stu Dent said on the National Tele vision network Friday night mail stall postal bags pile up at themare d Austerlitz As the growing wave of strikes halts railway traffic from  the railway tie up All subway station fat Paris were closed As Well ascus transportation facilities. A photo we had lots of strikes May be 20 or 30. We thought our de mands were justified and could be met. But no one paid any attention to the strikes. The newspapers did t mention them. The radios said  a group of left Wing extremists changed All that. The started their agitation at Nan Terre a newly built suburban Campus which takes the Over flow from the sorbonne letter Sand arts faculty of the univer sity of Paris. Classes were interrupted and Young revolutionaries put their theories of anarchy and disruption into practice at the univer sity. The agitators were a mixed bag held together Only by their aim of sowing trouble. They numbered from 1,000 to 1,500. In the bag were trotskyite the revolutionary communist youth movement which is Vacil lating Between Trotsky and Cas Tro pro chinese communist Sand anarchists. Notably missing were the communists Loyal to the mos cow Loyal French communist party. In the face of the unending disturbances the Santerre Campus was closed May 2. The Hope was that the agitating leaders would be isolated an controlled and that soon classes would be reopened. The following Day the Nan Terre dissidents went to the Sor Bonne to air their complaint Sand seek support from their col leagues. A counter demonstration of right Wing students developed. What happened next is not Clear even to those who were closest to the situation. Did the groups actually Start fighting were fears that they would come to blows and damage University property justified whatever was happening or happened in the courtyard of the sorbonne on May 3, it was Seri Ous enough for Hector Jean Roche to Call education minis Ter Alain Peyrefitte. Together they decided to Call in police. That decision touched off Chepow Derieg. When students from the Sor Bonne saw colleagues being manhandled by police and loaded into Paddy wagons they immediately joined a Solidarity movement. The old european tradition has it that universities Are student sanctuaries where police do not  sorbonne was ordered closed and the courtyard occupied by police. Daniel corf Beh Dit Danny the Reda free talking Leader with few troops was a hero. Then came the Street Bat Les with students setting up barricades and hurling paving stones at police who used tear Gas. The mass of the student sat the barricades were there to defend the Liberty of the univer sity but the Santerre agitators were in the front ranks direct ing the show. The French Public was shocked by photographs of police clubbing students although Many of the most seriously wounded were on the Side of the police. The police themselves were incensed that they had been put into an unpopular Posi Tion and had not been adequately backed by the government which gave the orders. The moribund National Union of French students Kunef whose membership had dropped from 100,000 to less than 50,000in the past seven years started asserting leadership. Student sin other colleges faculties in Paris and the rest of franc were urged to strike. To the Surprise of the govern ment the other students Fol Lowed. So did Many  Street fighting went on and in one Battle Early last saturday the students held a mile Square area of the left Bank for a few hours. Devastation was wide spread in the student Quarter. Then Premier Pompidou came Back from a trip to Iran and Afghanistan. He bowed tothe student demands. He ordered the sorbonne reopened. Police were withdrawn from the latin Quarter. About 31 students who had been jailed were released. He promised reforms in the University system. In theory  have restored  the students weren t quite ready to relinquish r their new found Freedom. They wanted to see Concrete results on the re forms before disbanding the movement. The labor unions which had originally been Cool to the Stu Dent movement wanted to show Solidarity. They called their general strike and massive demonstration. But still there seemed to be no warmth be tween the two groups. Georges Seguy Secretary Gen eral of the communist led Cut walked with Cohn Bendit in the big Parade. But Friday he said if you talk to me of this Man i ask who is he Seguy said the Cut will not let anyone get mixed up in the workers  just As the extent of the Stu Dent movement surprised every one the snowballing workers strike movement has been a source of amazement. From a almost unnoticed Start both have grown to outsize proportions and no one sees the end. The students have Many grievances and even Pompidou has admitted that Many things must be changed. Among themare a system that dates Back to Napoleon with a heavy hande Central administration from Paris. Another is a rigid final examination system which controls a student s future at each step along the Way. Efforts at Reform have been met with bureaucratic lethargy. Students professors and administrator complain that requests for an Exchange of views with the ministry of education have been ignored or Given Only lip service. The workers too com Plain of the impossibility of dialogue. The various ministers of de Gaulle have had a habit of telling the workers what the can have and let it go at thai. Alter the 1963 36-Day min strike the government set up a system of granting wage in creases of about 4 per cent a year to All employees of the government and nationalized Indus tries. But Many Side issues have been left to slide. The worke have called repeated strikes 01 24 or 48 hours but have extracted almost no concessions from the government. Ministers have stood coolly aloof from the Tiou Bles apparently accepting them As a necessary evil. Now in their Mccun Kulaea anger the workers Are hoping to make the government listen. European coition Edl,0r.l-Cmrf col. James w. Campbell Usa. In Calif it. Col. Of Michael jr., a of. P manage Wert Proctor production m Elmer a Frank. Circulate Man a Henry t. Epstein. Circular a an unofficial new Pap of and for the. . Arm , . European command. A International