Chapter 10: May 1968 and the Revolutionary Café Redux

The student uprising of May 1968 returned cafés to their revolutionary roots. The Sorbonne's occupation transformed Latin Quarter cafés into 24-hour political forums. The famous graffiti "Sous les pavés, la plage" (Under the paving stones, the beach) was reportedly first written on a café napkin.

But 1968 also marked the beginning of café culture's challenges. Television kept people home. American-style fast food arrived. The traditional zinc bars were replaced by Formica. Many saw the soul of café culture being lost to modernization.