The revolution through words and images. History of the emblematic slogan of May 68: «CRS = SS»

Abstract

Echoed by the students during the demonstrations that took place to denounce the police repression, «CRS=SS» became the most symbolic slogan of the French revolts of May 1968. This motto is also part of a well-known poster, the most widely spread on the walls of the Parisian Latin Quarter at that time, in this article I analyze the meaning of this motto, while exploring its history, its origins, its rise, and its passing into posterity. Contrary to conventional beliefs, this slogan did not originate during May 1968, but twenty years before, during the great miners' strike of 1948. This motto was borrowed by the students before the movement was unleashed, quickly converting it into a symbol of students' rebellion. However, its history does not end in June 1968, because during the last 50 years both the slogan and the CRS poster have been taken up again or re-worked by extreme left groups as well as by commercial advertising. In this sense, the later recognition of this symbol explains the present-day view we have of the revolutions of May 1968.