Franco Tue. Giscard se tait [Franco kills. Giscard Shuts Up.]
- Title:
- Franco Tue. Giscard se tait [Franco kills. Giscard Shuts Up.]
- Alternate Title:
- [Franco kills. Giscard Shuts Up.]
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- Les Travilleurs en greve de Caron-Ozanne [The Striking Workers of Caron-Ozanne]
- Other Creators:
- Parti Socialiste Unifié (PSU), distributor.
- Date:
- 1975
- Posted Date:
- 2024-04-25
- ID Number:
- 2545.01
- File Name:
- PJM_2545_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1960 - Present
- Subject:
- Other Moral & Social
Pictorial
Politics & Government - Measurement:
- 86 x 59 sheet (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- This poster map is intended to influence two different audiences on two different subjects. One is obvious on the face of the map; the other requires an understanding of the odd circumstances in which it was made.
On September 27, 1975, despite repeated pleas for clemency from Pope Paul VI and many European leaders, the Spanish government under Generalissimo Francisco Franco executed five members of the Basque terrorist group ETA. Britain, Denmark, East and West Germany, and the Netherlands immediately recalled their ambassadors from Madrid. There was extensive rioting across Europe; the Spanish embassy in Lisbon was burned and sacked. Despite angry demonstrations in Paris, Marseilles, and elsewhere in France, there was apparently no reaction or comment from the President of France, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. See New York Times, September 28, 1975, pp. 1, 26.
This poster shows a gagged, seemingly dead man atop the map of Spain, his blood staining the nation. In addition to the wounds to his chest, there is a Nazi swastika stuck in his back, recalling Franco's malign relations with Hitler's Germany more than 30 years earlier. The message is, "Franco Tue. Giscard Se Tait." [Franco Kills. Giscard Shuts Up.] The poster bears the PSU logo of the Parti Socialiste Unifié, and is plainly aimed at promoting anti-Facist and anti-Giscard views among French citizens.
But the poster also serves another, less obvious purpose. On June 5, 1975, the largest printing plant in the Normandy region, Caron-Ozanne, announced the layoff of 48 employees. The workers immediately went on strike - and seized control of the plant. Rather than sit idle, the workers took over the entire printing operation, producing some newspapers and magazines for the plant's regular customers.
At the same time, they published leaflets, posters, and their own newspaper "to talk about their factory on the one hand, but also for the benefit of other ongoing struggles in the country and for unions and political parties." https://archives.calvados.fr/page/lutte-des-caron-ozanne, accessed October 7, 2022 (trans.). This is one of those posters; at the bottom, in a bold red font, are the words, "This poster was made by the striking workers of Caron-Ozanne on the tools of their trade." The use of the plant's facilities to produce materials supporting the strikers' position and the views of other unions and leftist political organizations was another form of pressure intended to influence the plant's owners to settle the strike.
Cornell University Library is pleased to present this digital collection of Persuasive Maps, the originals of which have been collected and described by the private collector PJ Mode. The descriptive information in the “Collector’s Notes” has been supplied by Mr. Mode and does not necessarily reflect the views of Cornell University. - Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.