Protest, Not Revolution. N’est-ce pas?

The current wave of demonstrations in 40 French cities, driven by chronic teacher shortages, dilapidated school infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms, and anger over iron-fisted policing, peaked nationally in early October. Because October 9 marks the historical date of Che Guevara’s execution in Bolivia, critics, left-wing commentators, or historically minded student factions occasionally draw conceptual parallels between the two.
As university students several decades ago, we thought there was some romantic linkage between French radicalism and the Guevara movement. Whenever French youths take to the streets, build blockades, and clash with riot police, they consciously or unconsciou...