US and Vietnam

[CapelDodger]

From the 1940's to the 1960's socialist and communist parties were out of favor in France. IIRC there was a rather spectacular failure of a socialist government in the 1930's which impacted politics for a while.

P.S. Parti Socialiste (the one with the stupid logo of a fist holding a rose) was founded in 1969. Coincidental?

To me, there is little difference between socialist and communist in regards to the damage they cause by impoverishing entire nations. One just does it in a slightly more brutal fashion. To-may-to, to-mah-to.

France was in a bit of a turmoil from the 1940's through the 60's, what with the German Occupation and Vichy then the Colonial Wars in Indo-China and Algeria, the fall of the 4th (IIRC) Republic and the De Gaulle-authored 5th. (Which may be on its last legs now.) Communism and socialism retained strong support outside central government, in the mairies and trade unions, and Gaullist policies were what I strongly suspect you would have described as socialist.

Old British Joke : Brit is explaining British politics to a Yank. "On the one side we have the Labour Party, or as you would call them, socialists. And on the other side we have the Conservatives, or as you would call them, socialists." Like all good jokes (well I like it) it has a truth behind it.

Partie Socialiste in 1969. Following the quasi-revolution, riots, student uprising, strikes and general upheavals of 1968. No coincidence there. Here's a thought : maybe things that happen in France are mostly influenced by other things that happen in France? Opposition to the Vietnam War was certainly there in the student movement, but not the defining factor. So yes, conincidental in my opinion.

The shooting of students at Kent State during the Vietnam War was definitely not coincidental. But it's hardly surprising that events in the US are mostly connected to other events in the US.