CFDT and CGT tensions are growing. The Lip affair, Besancon, 1973 (b/w photo)

The Lip case. Lip affair” refers to the course and actions of a strike that took place in the Lip watch factory in Besançon (Doubs). Begun in the early 1970s, the struggle lasted until mid-1976 and mobilized tens of thousands of people across France and all of Europe. On September 29, a large national march on Besançon is organized. Nearly 100,000 people (including many from elsewhere) demonstrate in the pouring rain, it's The March of 100,000. Present, Michel Rocard (PSU) vouched for the smooth running of the demonstration before the council municipal, socialist, and the PCF and the CGT. Militants from the LCR, the Gauche prolétarienne, the peasants of Bernard Lambert, the high school committees, etc., were present: the small groups formed a good third of the demonstration, with around 30,000 people.