Brace yourself for emotionally charged reminiscences over the next few months. This year is the 40th anniversary of a series of momentous events: the Prague spring; the Tet offensive in Vietnam; the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy; and the May uprising of students and workers that convulsed France.

Soixante-huit, as it is known in France, still divides the country like few other issues depending on your political viewpoint (and perhaps the quantity of drugs consumed).