Spirit of 1968 is invoked on streets of Sarkozy's France to demand stability

Music blared, drums beat a menacing rhythm and protesters stood behind banners proclaiming their opposition to President Sarkozy on May Day marches in Paris this week.

Leaning on a roadside railing, Adrien Derain sought to motivate his comrades with a slogan scrawled on a piece of cardboard hung around his neck. "Mai '68, Mai 2008". It was a call to arms in a society permanently on the edge of conflict – an invitation to the next round in the centuries old fight between les autorités and les contestataires.

As students such as Mr Derain listed their grievances – threats to teaching staff, unemployment and concerns over pensions – they emphasised the gulf that separates today's France from the riots of 40 years ago.

Then, the country exploded in search of a better future. Now, instead of revolution, demonstrators want pragmatism and stability – to stop things from getting worse. "This has nothing to do with May 1968," the 17-year-old said. "We're in a different world." That may explain why France has embraced the anniversary of the greatest upheaval in its contemporary history with such awe and nostalgia.

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If French politics stayed the same, society underwent changes that affected schools, culture, families and sexuality. Marcel Gauchet, a philosopher, said that France had yet to grasp the extent of "the immense anthropological mutation" set in motion by May '68. For the first time the nation that emerged from the rebellion was no longer organised to ensure its own reproduction, he said. "This really was a revolution – but not the one they thought they would provoke."

Detractors say that the consequences have been disastrous – divorce, drugs, crime and a general breakdown in social cohesion amid the pursuit of individual happiness. Mr Sarkozy was virulent in his criticism, pledging to "liquidate the legacy" of the uprising during his election campaign last year.

He is in a minority. According to a recent poll 80 per cent of French people think that May '68 had a positive influence on relationships between men and women. More than three quarters would join the students on the barricades if it happened again.

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