Daniel Marc Cohn-Bendit (; ; born 4 April 1945) is a French-German politician of Jewish descent. He was a student leader during the unrest of

May 1968 in France Beginning in May 1968, a period of civil unrest occurred throughout France, lasting some seven weeks and punctuated by demonstrations, general strikes, as well as the occupation of universities and factories. At the height of events, which ...

and was also known during that time as ''Dany le Rouge'' (French for "Danny the Red", because of both his politics and the colour of his hair). He was co-president of the group

European Greens–European Free Alliance European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

. He co-chairs the

Spinelli Group The Spinelli Group is an initiative founded with a view to reinvigorate the endeavour for federalisation of the European Union (EU), by creating a network of citizens, think tanks, NGOs, academics, writers and politicians who support the idea o ...

, a

European parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

inter-group aiming at relaunching the federalist project in Europe. He was a recipient of the

European Initiative Prize The European Initiative Prize ( French: '')'' is a journalism prize, created in 2003 by the Maison de l’Europe de Paris and the European Press Club with the support of the European Parliament.

in 2016. Cohn-Bendit's 1970s writings on sexuality between adults and children later proved controversial in 2001 and 2013.

Selected works

He is the co-author, with his brother

Gabriel Cohn-Bendit Gabriel Cohn-Bendit (14 April 1936 – 17 December 2021) was a French activist and academic. He frequented anarchist circles and was part of the far-left in the 1960s and 1970s while later joining the Socialist Party and The Greens. Biography G ...

, of ''Obsolete Communism: The Left-Wing Alternative'' (''Linksradikalismus: Gewaltkur gegen die Alterskrankheit des Kommunismus'', 1968). This book combines an account of the events of May 1968 with a critique of Stalinism, the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Un ...

and the

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

establishment. The authors acknowledged their intellectual debt to the

libertarian socialist Libertarian socialism, also known by various other names, is a left-wing,Diemer, Ulli (1997)"What Is Libertarian Socialism?" The Anarchist Library. Retrieved 4 August 2019. anti-authoritarian, anti-statist and libertarianLong, Roderick T. (20 ...

group

Socialisme ou Barbarie Socialisme ou Barbarie () was a French-based radical libertarian socialist group of the post-World War II period whose name comes from a phrase which was misattributed to Friedrich Engels by Rosa Luxemburg in the '' Junius Pamphlet'', but which pr ...

, especially

Cornelius Castoriadis Cornelius Castoriadis ( el, Κορνήλιος Καστοριάδης; 11 March 1922 – 26 December 1997) was a Greek-FrenchMemos 2014, p. 18: "he was ... granted full French citizenship in 1970." philosopher, social critic, economist, ps ...

("Pierre Chaulieu") and

Claude Lefort Claude Lefort (; ; 21 April 1924 – 3 October 2010) was a French philosopher and activist. He was politically active by 1942 under the influence of his tutor, the phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty (whose posthumous publications Lefort late ...

Allegations of sex with minors

In 2001, it was revealed that Cohn-Bendit had authored a 1976 article in the cultural-political magazine ''das da'', in which he graphically described engaging in sexual activities with children under his care at a Frankfurt kindergarten. In 2013, it was also noted that there was a recording wherein Cohn-Bendit described an "incredibly erotic game" with a minor. With regard to the ''das da'' article, Cohn-Bendit claimed the described activities were not based on true events and were an "obnoxious provocation".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohn-Bendit, Daniel 1945 births Living people Federalism People from Montauban Anti–Vietnam War activists Autonomism 20th-century French Jews French socialists German socialists May 1968 events in France MEPs for Germany 2004–2009 MEPs for Île-de-France 2009–2014 Alliance 90/The Greens MEPs Europe Ecology – The Greens MEPs MEPs for France 1999–2004 Europe Ecology – The Greens politicians Sozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund members Eurofederalism University of Paris alumni

Selected works

Allegations of sex with minors

See also

References

Further reading

External links