Posted on 05/30/2005 12:18:32 AM PDT by MadIvan
There was a whiff of rebellion in the air yesterday, as the residents of the Bastille quarter of Paris went to vote on the EU constitution.
Whether they voted Yes or No, voters expressed distaste for a campaign they said had been dominated by "fear-mongering" on both sides.
Christine Delmotte, a young mother voting with her son in tow, said that a last-minute television broadcast by President Jacques Chirac, saying a No vote would harm France, made her keener than ever to reject the treaty.
"Chirac and all that lot say that it will be a catastrophe. Well, I don't believe it, and I don't like feeling I'm being forced to do something," said Mrs Delmotte, a civil servant.
She voted No out of a feeling that "Europe is pulling us all downwards, as far as working conditions and social security is concerned".
Sylvie, a legal administrator, said she had agonised over her vote, as she emerged from polling station 54, a primary school in a side street leading off the Place de la Bastille, birthplace of the French Revolution.
Sylvie, 42, who declined to give her surname, ended up voting No. "I only decided two or three days ago, and that's very rare for me. I am normally quite decisive."
The sheer size and scope of the treaty left her bewildered. "The text recognizes the rights of women and homosexuals, and I liked that - that nearly made me vote Yes," she said.
"But what made me vote No was, above all, the fact that it gives powers to Europe on social policy. And as the majority of European countries are liberal [in favour of a free-market], that means that France could be led towards policies we don't like."
Britain's relatively aloof view of the EU - not often the focus of French praise - had inspired her, Sylvie said. "They tried to frighten us about the consequences of a No, but Britain is not in the euro, and its economy hasn't collapsed. So you can clearly say no to some things and not find yourself on the fringes of Europe."
It was precisely that fear of being on the fringes that led Pierre Morel and his partner Laurence Gilbert to vote Yes.
They are typical of the trendy young professionals who have moved into what was once a solidly working-class district. For all its new bars and creative businesses, the Bastille remains firmly on the political Left. Mr Morel said they had made their decision only yesterday, changing their minds several times over the past few weeks - a phenomenon that polls picked up on a national level.
"The Yes campaign was very weak, they defended this constitution badly. In the end, we voted Yes to build Europe, and because if France votes No, there will be consequences for us. We'll end up with our arse between two chairs - I don't know if that's a phrase in English," said Mr Morel.
The couple ultimately feared that the rest of Europe would look down on France for suddenly turning on its own project.
"We can't keep voting like a yo-yo, Yes one minute, No the next," said Miss Gilbert. "France looks contradictory. So I voted Yes, but with reservations."
To Thierry Vessigault, 36, a builder, and Yes voter, the French people and their leaders shared equal blame for a confused, fear-ridden campaign.
He said: "I voted Yes with conviction, because for me the Union makes us strong, it helps us stand up to the United States and China."
But he expressed irritation at the predictions of doom being hurled at French voters. "I don't think France should be blamed if No wins. Several countries are going to vote No. And if No wins, that's because the government ran a really bad campaign."
It doesn't matter who runs France. What matters is that those who ran France were trying to run Europe, and that has been utterly destroyed. The replacements will have a much more difficult time, even if they do harbour the same ambitions - the elite that was destroyed was the one that founded the EU in the first place.
Regards, Ivan
The [hypothetical] replacements would be bound to have the same French mentality, and hence the same ambitions. And since many people would naturally expect them to have too difficult time at it and could lower their guard, the replacements [or rather their attempts] could even prove more harmful. The best [for the external world] one could wish for would be for the French to remain saddled with their current well known and discredited elites - and to continue composting in their own juices. My condolences in advance to all those downwind.
The French lost its EU constitution, and Lebanon won its democracy. What a GREAT day! We are viewing a mile stone in history!
They actually have to define "liberal" as free market and not as a euphemism for "protectionist" and "socialist"....
Nope, they don't want to vote "yes" and they don't want to vote "no". They want to keep their 10 weeks of vacation and retirement at 50 and they want China and the Asian Tigers to just go away.
If you like French wine, stock up now, because when the Muslims fundamentalists take over France, it'll be illegal! Culturally, old Europe is a "dead man walking".
Who else has a vote coming up soon?
"I voted Yes with conviction, because for me the Union makes us strong, it helps us stand up to the United States...."
Wishful thinking you ungrateful frog.
The European Union in its current form will not survive for long. It may continue to exist, but will become as useless as the United Nations. And France and a couple of die-hard Euro-federalist nations will then form a new federation in place of the EU.
Ping!
The Dutch vote on Wednesday, but the vote is not "binding". The people are being polled at 60% or more for a "no" vote, but in the end the elites will decide.
GOOD! Dare I hope his next term is served in jail?
Please put me on your ping list. Thank you. b.
Talk about a confused electorate!
Looks like Chirac has his arse between two chairs!
The EU boosters came to the most prideful population in Europe and said, "How'd you like to stop being "La Belle France" and start being "a large concentration of French-speaking people occupying a certain part of Europe?" No wonder it went down like a rock in water.
LOL! Heard from the Indians in Boston Harbor ... "I didn't throw any tea into the water, but I certainly stomped my feet very loudly on the pier to redress my greivances! "
The French 'Non' strikes me as similar to the rejection of the Meech Lake Accord by Canadians, left and right, each for a different reason, with only lackeys of the Establishment voting 'Yes'.
Nothing is to be made of it particularly, except that it confirms the alienation of the led from the leaders, hardly a unique circumstance, especially for Frenchmen.
God save the Queen, and confusion to her enemies!
I'm really not going to complain too much about their reasoning. I'm just happy the document has been killed.
Britain will be assuming the rotating presidency of the EU shortly - now, NOW we can end much of the nonsense we've seen out of Chirac.
Regards, Ivan
Thanks, Fanfan. :-)
:-)
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