1968: Protests mount in France

On May 16, 1968, after nearly two weeks of sporadic street fighting in Paris, students take over the Sorbonne University, demanding radical solutions to France's unemployment problem. Their example sets off strikes of students and workers throughout the country, and within a week the nation had virtually shut down. After failing to broker an end to the general strike, President Charles de Gaulle dissolved the National Assembly and called new elections. Although his party won reelection, continued discontent led to his resignation in 1969.