Text 13061, 127 rader
Skriven 2005-05-29 21:51:00 av Jeff Binkley (1:226/600)
Ärende: EU
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Now the rest of Europe can deal with the French... I have been predicting
problems with the EU for a few years...

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/29/AR2005052900141
_pf.html

French Voters Reject First EU Constitution

By JOHN LEICESTER
The Associated Press
Sunday, May 29, 2005; 5:48 PM



PARIS -- French voters rejected the European Union's first constitution Sunday,
a stinging repudiation of President Jacques Chirac's leadership and the
ambitious, decades-long effort to further unite the continent.

Chirac, who urged voters to approve the charter, announced the result in a
brief, televised address. He said the process of ratifying the treaty would
continue in other EU countries.

"It is your sovereign decision, and I take note," Chirac said. "Make no
mistake, France's decision inevitably creates a difficult context for the
defense of our interests in Europe."

With 92 percent of votes counted, the treaty was rejected by 56.14 percent of
voters, the Interior Ministry said. It was supported by 43.86 percent.

Treaty opponents chanting "We won!" gathered at Paris' Place de la Bastille, a
symbol of rebellion where angry crowds in 1789 stormed the Bastille prison and
sparked the French Revolution. Cars blared their horns and "no" campaigners
thrust their arms into the air.

"This is a great victory," said Fabrice Savel, 38, from the working class
suburb of Aubervilliers. He was distributing posters that read: "Non to a
free-market Europe."

EU leaders in Brussels, Belgium, vowed to continue their effort to have the
constitution approved.

All 25 EU members must ratify the text for it to take effect as planned by Nov.
1, 2006. Nine already have done so: Austria, Hungary, Italy, Germany, Greece,
Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

The Dutch vote Wednesday, with polls showing opposition to the constitution
there running at about 60 percent. On Friday, the constitution's main
architect, former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, said countries
that reject the treaty will be asked to vote again.

France's rejection could set the continent's plans back by years. The nation
was a primary architect of European unity.

"There is no more constitution," leading opponent Philippe de Villiers said.
"It is necessary to reconstruct Europe on other foundations that don't
currently exist."

De Villiers called on Chirac to resign _ something the French leader had said
he would not do _ and called for parliament to be dissolved.

"Tonight we face a major political crisis," he said.

Extreme-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, who campaigned vigorously for the
constitution's defeat, also called for Chirac's resignation.

Chirac "wanted to gamble ... and he has lost," Le Pen said, alluding to
Chirac's decision not to submit the charter to sure approval by parliament. The
EU constitution can be adopted either by a referendum or a nation's
legislature.

Backers said the constitution, which European leaders signed in October, would
streamline EU operations and decision-making, and make the bloc more accessible
to its 450 million citizens. The text would give the EU a president and foreign
minister so it could speak with one voice in world affairs.

Opponents feared it would strip nations of sovereignty and trigger an influx of
cheap labor just as powers such as France and Germany struggle to contain
double-digit unemployment.

Left-wing opponents argued that the treaty would not protect France's cherished
social protections and public services, and would open the door to unfettered
capitalism and trample on workers' rights.

Some said the treaty did not go far enough toward making the EU more
democratic, including by not giving enough powers to the European Parliament.

Chirac had waged an all-out campaign to persuade nearly 42 million sharply
divided voters to approve the charter. But the electorate was in rebellious
mood, with unemployment running at 10 percent and wide unease about the
direction Europe is taking.

"If you look at every sentence, every turn of phrase, practically every article
has a mention of (financial) markets," Anne-Marie Latremoliere, a 57-year-old
graphic designer, said after casting a "no" ballot at a polling station near
the Bastille. "We want Europe to be a beautiful place, and this is certainly
not it."

Chirac and European leaders repeatedly warned that the treaty, a carefully
calibrated compromise between EU members that took more than two years to put
together, cannot be renegotiated.

Treaty opponents dismissed that argument, saying renegotiation was possible _
especially if a country with France's influence rejects it.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw called for a "period of reflection" after
the vote.

"The result raises profound questions for all of us about the future direction
of Europe," Straw said in London.

The rejection could kill any hopes Chirac may have had for a third term. His
approval ratings have plunged to 39 percent in recent weeks, and there was
widespread speculation a "no" vote would prompt him to fire unpopular Prime
Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin.

Chirac said in his televised address he would announce "my decisions concerning
the government and its priorities" in coming days.

France's rejection of the treaty made the conservative president only the
second leader, after Gen. Charles de Gaulle, to lose a referendum since the
founding of the Fifth Republic in 1958.

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