Fausta's blog

Faustam fortuna adiuvat
The official blog of Fausta's Blog Talk Radio show.

Sunday, May 29, 2005

Emphatically, "Non"
With 70% of all eligible French voters participating, 56% said NO to the European Constitution:
Le Figaro: Les gagnants et les perdants du non (The No's winners and losers)
France2 News" Référendum: un non franc et massif (Referendum: A massive, frank, No).
BBC News: French voters reject EU charter. The "No" camp on both the right and the left is jubilant. French voters have overwhelmingly rejected the European Union's proposed constitution in a key referendum
Libération: Le triomphe du non
Le Monde: La France rejette nettement le traité constitutionnel (France clearly rejects the constitutional treaty)
VOA News: French Voters Reject EU Constitution
Forbes: FRENCH EU VOTE: Schroeder says 'no' vote a setback, but not end for constitution
Financial Times: EU dreams collide with French antipathy
The Guardian: Raffarin in line to be victim of political disarray. Weakened Chirac promises to act within days

Will Chirac choose pompous Villepin, or will he go with Sarkozy? The Guardian:
Commentators agree that Mr Chirac is naturally reluctant to give Mr Sarkozy the job, despite that fact that it could well prove a poisoned chalice for a bitter rival, since he believes it is essential for president and prime minister to get on, and the two loathe each other.

Mr Sarkozy's campaign for the yes camp in the referendum, moreover, consistently stressed his differences with Mr Chirac; for example, his belief that France urgently needs deeper, structural freemarket reforms, particularly to its rigid labour market, if it is to compete. Mr Sarkozy was the only French politician to say the French should vote yes to the treaty "to change France", and to dare suggest that the French social model was "no longer the best".

But if Mr Chirac feels that the scale of the no victory demands radical action, government officials have suggested he may overcome his scruples in order to salvage at least something from his presidency - even if that means allowing Mr Sarkozy a free hand to be "prime minister of France, and not prime minister of Jacques Chirac".
I hope he goes with Sarkozy.

Bloggers' analysis and commentary round-up:
Stephen Pollard: Hurrah!
Samizdata: Wrong reasons, right result,
WebCommentary: France Speaks: Sovereignty Oui, EU Constitution Non
Belgravia Dispatch: This massive no resonates like a thunderclap across the French political landscape
More at EU Referendum, ¡No Pasarán!, QandO Blog, and Roger L. Simon.

Update: Instapundit reader Jonathan Smith says "I have yet to see an american blogger that has recognized that a lot of people that voted Non want France to be a MORE socialist state. It's a fear that the EU will be more capitalist."
Read on, Jonathan. Read on (and see link to Economist article in that post).

4 Comments:

At 2:36 AM, Blogger Vicente Torres said...

Hello, Fausta:
To summon the referendum was an irresponsible act.

 
At 2:36 AM, Blogger Vicente Torres said...

Hello, Fausta:
To summon the referendum was an irresponsible act.

 
At 3:40 AM, Blogger Rosemary Welch said...

Dear Fausta,
Hurrah! Yeehaw! Yippee! Hahaha! Can you tell that I am happy?!

 
At 9:11 AM, Blogger Fausta said...

Vicente, would you be saying that if the French had overwhelmingly said "yes"?

 

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