What would a successful May 1968 look like?

[Oppo]

I did cover something similar in terms of May 68 being "unsuccessful but successful" in IVC, as well. Essentially, Messmer - not the calm presence of Pompidou - bungles the bag, and it saps the authority of an already weakened Gaullist government allowing for an earlier Mitterand victory. So, a revolution without a revolution.

That was definitely not out of reach: Ambassador Sargent Shriver predicted De Gaulle would resign and Mitterrand would win, which he saw as a W for the Americans by putting a more reliable ally in charge.

 

[Catalunya]

Wait how does butterflying the Kennedy assassination galvanize support for a revolution in France?

Kennedy would likely manage Vietnam and the Civil Rights protests worse than LBJ, making it easier for people to get radicalized.

 

[Hendryk]

That was definitely not out of reach: Ambassador Sargent Shriver predicted De Gaulle would resign and Mitterrand would win, which he saw as a W for the Americans by putting a more reliable ally in charge.

That's also pretty much how the Jour J story ends: Mitterrand is going to be the first president of the Sixth Republic and hints that he will normalize relations with the US.

 

[JesterBL]

Too soon to tell.

 

[Mumby]

That is quite an idea!


I figured that the French revolution would have some ripple effects - it'd probably make the rest of the Western bloc very, very scared of the New Left. I hinted at it a little with the Spanish invasion of Portugal (presumably in response to an earlier Carnation Revolution inspired by the French example), and I'd imagine that street politics in Italy, Germany, the US, etc is heating up. Under those circumstances I could see Nixon and Kissinger being wary of backing heterodox left movements and putting more emphasis on alignment with the Soviets, who share their desire for stability in Europe. Just a list, so not super heavy on the plausibility, but I think it kind of follows.

Strikes me as a scenario in which a Sino-Soviet split occurs and the Chinese become the Big Bad of the Cold War.

 

[OHC]

Strikes me as a scenario in which a Sino-Soviet split occurs and the Chinese become the Big Bad of the Cold War.

Nixon goes to Moscow, exactly. Especially if the Sinophilic revolutionaries do actually win out in France.

 

[Catalunya]

Nixon goes to Moscow, exactly. Especially if the Sinophilic revolutionaries do actually win out in France.

Would be hilarious if the Cold War thaws out to such an extent that the Germanies reunite, and you have the CDU/CSU and SED collaborate to keep the New Leftists and their ‘fellow travelers’ (SPD’ers who believe that you shouldn’t round up every man with hair that extends to their shoulders).

I also wonder wonder just how close a Sinophilic France would be with a China. Even after a revolution France would still be, at the very least, an equal power to China, and I can easily see a break happening by the time Mao dies.