…Detractors say that the consequences [of the events of May 1968] have been disastrous – divorce, drugs, crime and a general breakdown in social cohesion amid the pursuit of individual happiness. Mr Sarkozy was virulent in his criticism, pledging to “liquidate the legacy” of the uprising during his election campaign last year. He is in a minority. According to a recent poll 80 per cent of French people think that May ’68 had a positive influence on relationships between men and women. More than three quarters would join the students on the barricades if it happened again…
Spirit of 1968 is invoked on streets of Sarkozy’s France to demand stability, Adam Sage, The Times, May 3, 2008
