An original French political poster produced during the May 1968 protest movement. Entitled “Participation Gaulliste”, the work was created at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris and bears the school’s original ink stamp.
The striking composition depicts a caricatural figure, alluding to President Charles de Gaulle, tightening a heavy vice around his own head. Printed in brown against the natural paper, the deliberately crude drawing possesses the immediacy and visual force characteristic of the May 1968 workshops.
The image satirises de Gaulle’s policy of “participation”, which proposed involving workers more closely in the operation and financial results of their employers. The poster presents this Gaullist initiative as a form of constraint rather than genuine emancipation.
Screen-printed in brown on paper, the poster’s bold lettering, restricted palette and simplified imagery were perfectly suited to rapid production and distribution throughout Paris. Like many works associated with May 1968, the design was created collectively and remains intentionally unsigned.
Bearing the stamp of the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, this original poster is an important document of French political and social history. Its powerful imagery makes it a notable example of the radical graphic language developed during the events of May 1968.
Original poster
May 68 - Politics
Tampon from the School of Supérieure des Beaux Art - De Gaulle
Good condition, folds, a stain
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