Posted on 05/30/2005 7:42:14 PM PDT by nwrep
There is little in the Place de la Bastille in Paris to betray that a party took place there after the French voted "No" in a referendum on the European constitution on Sunday.
Thousands of left-wing "No" voters spent much of the night celebrating their victory here.
Yet at 0900, the large, open space of the square is spotlessly clean. Even the anti-government graffiti scrawled on the Bastille monument after the results were announced has been scrubbed away.
Only a few stacked metal barriers hint at the presence of crowds of singing and cheering voters congratulating each other on their victory.
Still, the talk in the streets and cafes of Paris is of nothing but the referendum.
"Most of my clients have been talking about it this morning, just like we've been talking about it for months now," says Ahmed Amir, who runs a newspaper kiosk near the Place de la Bastille. "Most of them voted 'No', so they are very pleased."
'Slap in the face'
Further west, in Le Tocquet du Temple cafe behind Paris' town hall, Parisians nurse a midday drink and pass around a copy of a newspaper with the election results.
The mood is confident and satisfied.
"The politicians said a 'No' vote would be disastrous for France," says Jean-Claude Delaigle, a painter and decorator. "But I don't think it will be. Those at the top will just have to get together and come up with something different."
We no longer have any credibility in Europe. We have become a laughing stock Parisian voter
On the other side of the debate, the mood among "Yes" voters is one of frustration and disappointment.
"Everyone who understood the constitution voted 'Yes'," says one woman who did not want to be named.
"We no longer have any credibility in Europe. We have become a laughing stock."
The left-wing newspaper Liberation called the result a "masochistic masterpiece" fuelled by anger at "incompetent" French politicians "raised by ostriches".
Many newspapers are still reeling from the size of the "No" vote's victory.
France Soir calls it an "unprecedented slap in the face" and says the French people "have revolted", while Le Figaro is one of a number of papers describing it as "a tidal wave".
The question many people are asking is: what happens next?
Some European leaders have insisted the process of ratifying the constitution will continue, but those on the "No" side are calling for Europe to take on a new political and social direction.
'Lame duck'
As for France, "We are in total disarray," political analyst Anne-Marie Le Gloanec told the BBC.
"The president is a lame duck for the next two years, and with the opposition Socialists split, there is nothing on the other side."
Dominique Moisi of the French Institute of International Relations says the government's defeat means Mr Chirac "will enter history as the weakest president of the fifth Republic".
But the "No" vote also has a much deeper meaning, he says.
Those who voted "No" on the left say that Europe has been turned from an idea into an ideology.
"Europe as the protection for peace no longer motivates people - this is the official end of the post-war period."
heheheheheh
heh.
"Some say France has become laughing stock".
France has long been a laughing stock. Need I say Maginot Line?
SOME say???
In the immortal phrase of that great philosopher, Nelson: "HAA-ha!"
Does this sound exactly like a Kerry voter, or what?
But...
The French reticence to jump in with both feet seems to me a sober and thoughtful attitude.
Hardly a laughing stock.
Hope us Americans are as careful next time some wacky idea comes along.
Bla, bla, blaaablabla, blabla, bla...
Paris has always been something to laugh at, and I don't like her new Carl's junior commercial at all.
ooops, again: bla, blabla, blaaablabla, blabla, bla
They did consider it carefully and concluded that this bit of statist nonsense wasn't socialist enough for them!
They are doomed as a nation.
Non, plaisir malveillant.
She probably DID vote for Kerry. The global left defends such practices saying that the US has such an impact on the world, that they should have a say in who the US chooses for President.
bttt
Merci beaucoup.
"has become" a laughing stock?
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