How did Michel Foucault participate in protests against prisons and the Franco government?

Michel Foucault’s activism was characterized by a commitment to practical engagement alongside his theoretical work. He did not merely write about social institutions; he actively participated in efforts to challenge them.1

Regarding his involvement in protests:

• Prisons: Foucault was deeply concerned with the nature of incarceration and the modern penal system, a subject he explored in his 1975 work, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. His critique was practical as well as academic, and he organized protests against prisons to challenge established practices of discipline and exclusion.12
• Franco Government: In 1975, Foucault traveled to Spain to protest the impending executions of two members of the Basque separatist movement (ETA) by the government of Francisco Franco. During this demonstration, he confronted police officers who attempted to seize the protest leaflets he had prepared.1

Foucault’s approach to these actions was rooted in his desire to address concrete, local situations to determine how human capacities might be increased without simultaneously increasing oppression.1