French Voters Reject First EU Constitution

WaPo reported 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."

And that is precisely why Chirac pushed so hard for passage. It ws not because it was going to be good for Europe, but because France thought it would regain its lost power, and would be able to dominate Europe. What was at stake was French 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.

Tom @ScaredMonkeys blogged France has chosen not to give up its soul and its sovereignty, which is a good thing for the people of France, not just the elites. Here is a wrap up from around the world of newsprint. The story from the Washington Post From The AP The New York Times is Appalled The BBC is looking for a way to save the Charter, but cannot And the Times of London sounds very happy Mark Steyn is his brilliant self And again from the Times of London, we have Bronwen Maddox blamiing Tony Blair????

Joe Gandelman blogged France Nixes EU Compact: Is Chirac French Toast? A shocker...A failure of leadership...A body blow... An embarrassment to France...A repudiation... Those are adjectives that some are using in the wake of France's rejection of the European Union's first constitution. And they're popping up in news stories not just about the vote outcome but about French President Jacques Chirac and France's political establishment. The news reports, editorial reaction, and weblog comments are as devastating as the VOTE. The bottom line: Chirac put his reputation and clout on the line — and lost, bigtime

Glenn Reynolds blogged Reader Jonathan Smith emails: "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." Well, that's been a theme of a lot of the coverage I've linked to, and it certainly seems to be true. In fact, though I can't find a working link to the story now, I seem to recall that French free-market activist Sabine Herold supported the EU because she thought that only an external institution could break the power of the French unions. As for the defeat on two grounds, it seems an obvious consequence of the EU's general strategy of obfuscation -- this works well in a bureaucratic environment, but in the context of referenda, where people tend to vote their fears more than their hopes, it's been self-defeating. Transparency tends to work better under such circumstances, and transparency has not been the Eurocrats' forte.

James Joyner blogged "Europe" may be a reality one day but not anytime soon, it seems. Even the French won't surrender their sovereignty this easily.