Champs-Élysées was the spot of counter-demonstration by de Gaulle supporters. They gathered in the street in support of the current president just hours after President de Gaulle called for support over the radio. By the afternoon of May 30th, 1968, de Gaulle supporters lined and filled Champs-Élysées showing that support for de Gaulle was not entirely plummeting. Many students were calling for de Gaulle to resign for the past couple weeks especially during the protest of May 24th after a failed attempt by De Gaulle to rally the people of France together. After a brief disappearance on May 29, de Gaulle returned the next day, met with his government and spoke on the afternoon broadcast. He opens his speech with "Under these present circumstances, I shall not resign".^[1] de Gaulle's tone was aggressive, he would not resign, would postpone the referendum, dissolve parliament and hold elections.^[2] Soon after his speech on the radio, crowds poured out onto the Champs-Élysées to demonstrate their support for their President. This event marks the end of the Events of May 1968 as in the following days the country relatively returned to normal in what Julian Jackson calls a "surprisingly fast speed".^[3]

In the last few days leading up to the pro-de Gaulle demonstration on May 30th, there is a shift in the opinion of the people of France. An agreement had been reached between the union, employer's associations and the government meaning that the factory workers were no longer in the streets. There was a sense that Parisians and French people alike wanted to return to normal and put an end to the riots and protests that had brought the country to a halt. Roger Absalom in conservation with Raymond Aron, who taught at the Sorbonne from 1955 to 1968, discussed how the student protests had such vague aims, ideologies and ambitions that most Frenchmen did not blame de Gaulle for inability to quell the revolts.^[4] The aims of the student movement become too vague and too lost in the metaphysical that in elections people would vote for something concrete and familiar.

Throughout the tour, participants were able to explore some of the sites and main elements of the largest protest in French history; understanding the massive impact that the events of May 1968 had on the country. The protest of the students and strikes of workers brought France to a complete economic halt and led the country to the brink of revolution. These events had a lasting impact on France, as they changed working conditions in factories and altered major policies within university institutions. Throughout the tour, participants learned about the grievances and actions of the students within Paris. By following the historic route of the protesters from the Lion of Belfort through the Latin Quarter and visiting the University of Sorbonne, tourists were able to gain insight into the student perspective and gain an understanding of the violence and unrest that the students were a part of. Furthermore, tourists were able to understand the involvement of student propaganda at the National School of Fine Arts. Finally, further student protests were explored at Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile and counter protests in support of Charles de Gaulle are examined Av. des Champs-Élysées.

These demonstrations not only impacted the working class and students but also set the foundation for what would then become the social and cultural liberation movements for women and gay right activists. Furthermore, this was not an isolated event in France but rather one of many unrelated mass protests that were taking place throughout developed world.

[1] "The Turn of the tide: de Gaulle's radio broadcast 16.30, 30 May 1968", The Times 31 May 1968 in Absalom, 66.

[2] Julian Jackson "De Gaulle and May 1968" De Gaulle and Twentieth Century France (London: Routledge, Chapman and Hall, Inc., 1994), 127.

[3] Jackson, 127

[4] Raymond Aron. "The Death and Resurrection of Gaullism" Trans. Gordon Clough The Elusive Revolution (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1969

Absalom, Roger. France: The May Events 1968. London: Longman Group Limited, 1971.

Aron, Raymond. "The Death and Resurrection of Gaullism" Trans. Gordon Clough The Elusive Revolution New York: Praeger Publishers, 1969

"Champs-Élysées - The Most Beautiful and Famous Avenue in Paris." Civitatis Paris. https://www.introducingparis.com/champs-elysees Accessed March 28, 2019

"Champs-Élysées City Visit in Paris, France – Recommended City Visit of Champs-Élysées in Paris," August 7, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110807091009/http://www.paris.com/paris_city_guide/city_visits_of_paris/champs_elysees_arc_de_triomphe.

Jackson, Julian. 1994. "De Gaulle and May 1968." In De Gaulle and Twentieth-Century France, edited by Hugh Gough and John Horne. New York: Edward Arnold.

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Author, Firstname. 20xx. Title of article or resource. Source of article or resource in detail, following a standard citation format. Hyperlink (if source is available on the internet).