Josep Ramoneda on the burying of the May '68 legacy

The Spanish writer Josep Ramoneda considers the legacy of May 1968, which was very present in the French presidential election campaign. "In his election campaign, Nicolas Sarkozy announced the burial of May 68. However, having become President of the Republic he hasn't taken the trouble to organise a funeral. ... Sarkozy committed two mistakes. The first is typically French: they forget that other events [Student revolts in Berkley, Berlin, ...] took place beyond France. The second is characteristic of the right which doesn't realise that capitalism, thanks to it's capacity for change (which was one of its advantages over communism) and the liberal right were the main beneficiaries of 68. ... So why has Sarkozy presented himself as 68's grave-digger ? ... Given the fact that his cultural terrain is the right, it was easy for him to go find the target of his moral rupture in the left's mythology. This was the purpose of May '68 in his electoral discours."

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