27 May 2005 Blog Home : May 2005 : Permalink
The "Oui" campaign is trying to push for European economic stagnation along the Franco-German model wheras the "Non" campaigners are trying to push for a more complete Soviet style economic collapse.
The campaigning in the days since then have only strengthened that impression. I am, as the regular reader of the blog is aware, staunchly against the proposed constitution but, while I disagree with the constitution, most of the rhetoric on the "non" side is utter tosh.France has just twigged that the European Community has been dedicated to open competition since the start, and that the constitution appears to consolidate doctrines alien to France’s tradition of strong state regulation.
“We know these are old ideas, but now we realise that we cannot abrogate them or change anything. I don’t have hard feelings towards the British because they suffered from a social shredding machine called Margaret Thatcher. So the British are less shocked than us by the harshness of the treaty. We have a high level of social protection and I do not want that (British) future for my children.”
and so on."Here at Sciences Po we have additional information to work with, compared to the population at large," he said. "We study European law."
To Mr Hatton, many French No voters had largely missed the point of the referendum, and were voting in protest against the government of President Jacques Chirac. "That's the risk of asking the people," he observed.
Alexandre Causse, 18, said it was only fair to put the constitution to a referendum but he admitted to reservations.
"Entrusting the people with the task of understanding such a complex text, well that's very ambitious," he said.
Luc Vernhet, 20, said: "The principle of a referendum is good."
But he added: "If we had asked deputies in the National Assembly, they would have ratified the treaty by a 90 per cent margin."
Mathieu Leblanc was less charitable. "It was really stupid, idiotic to hold a referendum," he complained, to a chorus of shushing from his friends.
"The French people haven't a clue about Europe. It's not logical to ask them to understand a text 115 pages long."
And it isn't just the brash students who hold the plebs in contempt, professors do too and the politicians themselves are now saying that if the voters vote no then either their votes will be ignored or they will be told to vote again until they vote yes.