This article examines the relations between the history of selected textual and visual representa- tions of Parisian urban riots, from the Communard uprising of 1871 to nowadays on one hand, and the recent literary production, especially... more
This article examines the relations between the history of selected textual and visual representa- tions of Parisian urban riots, from the Communard uprising of 1871 to nowadays on one hand, and the recent literary production, especially partially autobiographical novels devoted to May 1968 events and to the Occupy movements of the 80's on the other. The examined novels, Claude Arnaud's Qu'as-tu fait de tes frères (2010) and François Cusset's À l'abri du déclin du monde (2012), use a different approach to explore the affective charge of those struggles and the rise of the revolutionary counterculture linked to them. The study of these narratives is therefore based on two principal criteria: a) the autobiographical aspect of the texts related to a well-defined period, and a certain interest in experimental, creative urban practices, and b) a specifically topographical concern, which provides evidence of the evolving idea of an 'insurgent citizenship', involved with the 'Paris rouge' imaginary.
