35.00€
Relive one of the most significant moments in French history with “At the Heart of May 68.” This commemorative edition brings together the perspectives of photographer Bruno Barbey and journalist Philippe Tesson, both witnesses to these historic events.
For the fiftieth anniversary of the May 1968 events, two privileged witnesses revisit this pivotal period in French history. On one side, we have Philippe Tesson, the former editor-in-chief of “Combat.” This newspaper was one of the few that sided with the youth and the demonstrators, at least until the nights of violence. The journalist and editorialist shares his perspective on the events through an unpublished text. On the other side, renowned photographer Bruno Barbey, who was responsible for the photographic coverage of May 68 for the Magnum agency. He captured the life of the demonstrators, immortalizing the key moments that shook France. His photos circled the globe and remain invaluable visual testimonies of a highly tumultuous period.
The book “At the Heart of May 68” offers a unique perspective on those few weeks that shook France. Bruno Barbey and Philippe Tesson come together to revisit these events, providing a different illumination of this major historical event. Discover or rediscover May-June 1968 from a new angle through texts and photographs that trace the lives of the student and worker demonstrators.
Bruno Barbey was born in Morocco and holds both Swiss and French nationality. He studied photography and graphic arts at the School of Arts and Crafts in Vevey, Switzerland.
From 1961 to 1964, he photographed Italians, considering them as actors on a theater stage, with the aim of capturing the spirit of a nation.
Bruno Barbey began his association with Magnum Photos in 1964. He served as the Vice President for Europe in 1978-1979 and as the President of Magnum International from 1992 to 1995. Over five decades, he photographed on all five continents, covering wars and conflicts in Nigeria, Vietnam, the Middle East, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Northern Ireland, Iraq, and Kuwait. His work has been published in major magazines worldwide and has been the subject of around thirty books.
In 1999, the Petit-Palais in Paris organized a significant exhibition of Bruno Barbey’s photographs taken in Morocco over a period of 30 years. In 2015-2016, the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris hosted his retrospective exhibition, which has since traveled the world. On this occasion, he published his retrospective book titled “Passages.”
Bruno Barbey has received numerous awards for his work, including the National Order of Merit. In 2016, he was elected a member of the Academy of Fine Arts of the Institute of France. His photographs, exhibited worldwide, are part of the collections of many museums.
Born in 1928, Philippe Tesson is a journalist, editorialist, media executive, and holds a doctorate in literature.
He began his career at Combat, where he served as the editor-in-chief from 1960 to 1974. He later founded Le Quotidien de Paris, which he directed until 1994, alongside Les Nouvelles Littéraires, which he took over in 1975. During the same period, along with his wife, Dr. Marie-Claude Tesson, he established a group of medical and scientific publications, with Le Quotidien du médecin as its flagship.
A passionate theater enthusiast, he has been a theater critic since 1970, writing for various newspapers, including Le Canard enchaîné from 1970 to 1983, L’Express, and, since 1995, Figaro Magazine. Since 2000, he has been the director of Éditions de l’Avant-Scène Théâtre. In 2012, he took over Théâtre de Poche-Montparnasse, which he runs alongside his daughter Stéphanie Tesson and Charlotte Rondelez.
Throughout his career, he has also been a radio and television commentator and editorialist in the fields of politics and culture. He hosted the literary program “Ah ! Quels titres” on France 3. Currently, he is an editorialist for Le Point’s website and a columnist on Radio Classique.
He is the author of “De Gaulle Premier” (1965) and “Où est passée l’autorité ?” (2010, in collaboration with Laurent Joffrin).
Philippe Tesson is an Officer of the Legion of Honor and presides over the jury of the Prix Interallié.