The night of May 10-11 1968, known as The Night of the Barricades, was marked by fierce clashes between student protesters and police in the area around the Sorbonne. After police blocked protesters from reaching the ORTF (Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française), students began tearing up cobblestones and building barricades. Around 2am on May 11, police launched a charge, and a violent confrontation continued until dawn. Nearly 500 students were arrested and hundreds more were hospitalised, including 250 police officers. Far from quelling support, the clashes deepened public sympathy for the students. What had started as a university-led movement for educational reform soon spread to engulf all of France.The photographs in this album show the aftermath of the night's events with the hand drawn map showing the areas around the Sorbonne, centred on rue Gay Lussac, with symbols showing the location of the barricades and burnt-out cars.Album (270 x 210 mm, 10¾ x 8¼ in); 49 silver gelatin photographs with locations in ink on verso, map in pen and ink; brown textured covers with title in ink on upper side, black plastic spine bar.
