Paper short abstract:

This paper presents a diachronic comparison of youth social movements (1968 / 2008) in France, leading eventually to a discussion about the influence of virtual space over public attitude

Paper long abstract:

Celebrating forty years since the protests of '68 and twenty years since the clash of communist regimes would be suitable pretexts to ask: are there anymore reasons in the "civilized world" to expect such mass protests or we can declare for the first time in history that the youth is pleased with the establishment of the welfare state?

I chose University of Nanterre (the place of initiation of '68 movements in Paris) to conduct my research as participant observer during my 2008-2009 postdoctoral fellowship. In addition to classic methods, I employed the visual techniques, which enriches the information and can induce a direct empathic state between the viewer and the author.

This diachronic comparison also leads to a discussion about the influence of virtual space over public attitude, to prove how website forums, socializing sites and blogs become the main place of gathering for youth in present time and stimulate their creativity in promoting new forms of protest (as die-in or brain-drain).