How Civil War was Avoided in France

Abstract

France found itself on the brink of civil war at the end of May 1968. This analysis is based on two sources: the recently published memoirs of those who made history, and the results of a survey taken immediately after the crisis. The roles played by the leading historical actors resemble those in a Greek tragedy. The survey gives voice to the "silent majority," and indicates what the behavior ofthe masses would have been if a popular uprising or a military intervention had occurred. The recourse to elections- that is, the mobilization of electors and spectators-appears in retrospect to be the miraculous solution by which the agitating minorities were subdued and civil war avoided.