Posted on 03/17/2005 2:52:47 PM PST by Cornpone
PARIS, March 17 (AFP) - For the first time a majority of French say they plan to vote 'no' in the national referendum on the European constitution to be held in May, according to a poll to be published Friday in the daily Le Parisien.
According to the poll, carried out by the CSA institute, 51 percent intend to vote 'no' and 49 percent 'yes'.
Less than half of French voters are likely to vote in the May 29 referendum, with 53 percent of respondents saying they will abstain or cast blank ballots.
The poll was conducted Wednesday and Thursday among a representative sample of 802 over the age of 18.
The margin of error were not immediately available. The latest poll is likely to worry French President Jacques Chirac, who has been campaigning hard for a yes vote.
But the French electorate, angry over economic and labour reforms imposed by the conservative government and wary over Chirac's push to have Turkey become an EU member in the future, is in a volatile mood.
Street protests have been gathering pace in recent weeks and reached a crescendo last Thursday with a crippling national strike in a scene reminiscent of demonstrations in 1995 that eventually brought down the previous centre-right government.
With public support slipping away and the prospect of France -- one of the founding states of the EU, and its second-biggest economy -- becoming the country that torpedoes the EU constitution, Chirac had brought forward plans for the referendum.
Late last month, both houses of the French parliament held a rare joint session in the palace of Versailles to modify France's 1958 constitution so that the referendum on the EU charter can go ahead.
The main parties, Chirac's ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) and the opposition Socialists, have officially backed a 'yes' vote, though both have dissident members who say they will join the Communist Party and the far right in voting against.
Former EU commission president Jacques Delors warned of a "political cataclysm" in France in the case of a 'no' vote, in an interview to be published Friday by the newspaper Le Progres.
"If the 'no' prevails, France will be in for a political cataclysm," he said. "In Europe, it will open a very serious crisis which will slow down European construction, to the disadvantage of France," he said.
Delors said he was opposed to calling a referendum to adopt the constitution as a vote by parliament "is as important democratically as a referendum".
The constitution aims to streamline decision-making and forge a more coherent joint foreign policy in the European Union, which is finding its current procedures -- often requiring the unanimity of members -- unwieldy following the bloc's expansion last year from 15 to 25 states.
France and another nine EU member states are to call their voters out to decide the matter. Denmark announced late last month that it would hold its plebiscite on September 27.
Britain -- whose citizens are the most eurosceptic in the European Union -- has yet to announce a date for its referendum, reluctantly agreed to by Prime Minister Tony Blair, though it looks likely to take place in the first half of 2006.
The remaining 15 EU members have decided to ratify the charter through their parliaments, without putting it directly before voters -- a choice that has generated some resentment, particularly in Germany, the EU's biggest economy and biggest contributor to EU coffers.
Hungary, Lithuania and Slovenia have already ratified the constitution via parliamentary vote.
Don't believe everything you're told, even if a well known, social leftist, loud mouthed leprechaun chants it repeatedly.
Don't buy European wine at all. Buy American.
Let the inevitable economic downfall of the socialists come more quickly. It is merciful. ;)
Irag is forming a "new" nation. At the same time so are the Europeans. Which one will succeed?
Who was in charge when the french denied airspace to our F-111's that bombed Libya? That cost two American lives.
I'm talking about the least worst alternative. When you're talking about France, there is no good alternative, at least not since the fall of the Bourbons.
I hope the French do reject the unholy alliance.If Hitler had been smart enough to use his bankers instead of his tankers,he would have won!
Les voteurs francais -- ils ne sont pas bien elevees. Ils ont manque une bonne opportunitee pour se taire.
I know that France is not well-loved by FReepers, but I have a little proposition.
If the French vote against the European Constitution then as a gesture of thanks we should have a single 'buy French day'; just one day when we buy French wine (which at decent levels is still stunning), French cheese (which is damn difficult to beat) &c.
We can go straight back to avoiding their products afterwards, but this vote could really shaft the E.U. in a manner which they have not seen for ages and an act like that deserves some small recognition.
My tagline says it all....it was written for the French and other like-minded Liberals.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.