Even though well forecast, the French rejection of the EU constitution is stunning. It throws the future direction of the European Union into doubt. That it should be France which has dealt this blow is the real shocker. France has been at the heart of the post-war construction of Europe. It has been the mover and shaker. Now it has certainly done a bit of shaking. The original agreement by France and Germany to pool the raw materials of war, iron and steel, was the idea of far-sighted Frenchmen like Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman. They realised that three...
