The second French revolution

Congratulations France!- Can you send your revolutionary spirit to the US?

What the British press had to say about the result of the French EU referendum

"It is trite to dismiss this ballot as the sort of intemperate activity that the French engage in every so often, one more ultimately futile revolt to add to a string of others ... The French have never repudiated a ’European’ cause in the past. That they have done so now demands deep contemplation.

"The view of the French electorate should be deemed to be the last nail in the coffin of this unloved treaty. If, as expected, the citizens of the Netherlands again condemn it on Wednesday, then it will be more than six feet under. Rather than casting around for excuses and scapegoats, politicians, at home and abroad, should acknowledge the obvious. This text and the enterprise that produced it has long lacked the public enthusiasm that is required of democracies. The EU constitution is the dead parrot of the forestry of European politics."

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Sun Editorial, May 30

"Across Europe the tide has turned against the idea of a superstate. But we should not imagine that a No vote means an end to the ambitions of the federalists. Last night Europe’s leaders were insisting that ratification should continue in every country. Some were saying that if enough countries say Yes, the French could be asked to vote again.

"That makes it doubly important that our own referendum - promised by Tony Blair - returns such a resounding No that no one can possibly argue with it. Today the European Constitution is cooling in its coffin. But while Brussels bureaucrats are drawing breath the lid can never be quite nailed down."

Independent Editorial, May 30

"A good proportion of the French who voted ’no’ did so because they believed the treaty did too little to guarantee the EU’s ’European’ character. They wanted a document that would be more ’left’, more socialist, and a more explicit defence of workers’ rights than the one they had before them. They dismissed the advice of those, such as their president, who insisted, rightly, that in these respects the treaty was no different from the documents to which France - and the other EU members - were already bound.

"Their rejection of these reassurances, as of the treaty, is itself a comment on the mistrust which large sections of the French currently nurture towards the governing elite and the forces of globalisation ...

"The one conclusion that cannot be drawn from this vote, however, is that France is disengaging from Europe. The active and vociferous debate conducted in all corners of the country as the referendum approached revealed a country riven with doubt about its own identity and about the future. But it also showed a nation profoundly engaged with Europe, in a way that perhaps no other member of the European Union is now, or has ever been. This makes the French result both more significant and, once everyone has got over the initial shock, more heartening. It means that Europe matters."

Rachel Sylvester, Daily Telegraph, May 30

"It has been assumed in recent weeks that Tony Blair was desperate for the French nonistes to succeed, so that he could get out of his own promise to hold a referendum (which would be hard to win) in this country next year ...

"The truth is that the prime minister now faces a battle that will be every bit as bitter and difficult to win as a British referendum on the European constitution. His fight now will not be with the Eurosceptics in this country but with what he sees as the ’forces of conservatism’ in the rest of Europe. During the British presidency of the EU, which starts in July, he will try to force through changes to the way in which Europe operates that will be fiercely resisted by the French and others. This battle could be just as threatening to his political career as a referendum. It will be a re-run of the build-up to the war in Iraq - a battle between "old" and "new" Europe for the future of the continent."

Peter Oborne, Daily Mail, May 30

"Yesterday was nothing less than the beginning of the second French revolution. The first, in 1789, was an explosion of anger against the corrupt and broken Bourbon monarchy.

"The consequences of this second revolution may be just as wide-reaching. For this new revolution could destroy the power of the complacent Brussels bureaucrats who have defined how their fellow Europeans live their lives for half a century."

Financial Times Editorial, May 30

"There was never an instant Plan B on how to respond to the French decision. All 25 members have signed the treaty, and all are committed to debating and ratifying it by November 2006. Several more may say No ... but that is not a good reason to stop the process. Nine states have already said Yes, including two of the largest, Germany and Spain. Their views should not simply be dismissed because France has voted No. Nor should those of the countries yet to decide.

"What the debates in France and the Netherlands have demonstrated is a great desire among ordinary voters to have a real say on the future of the EU. They have not been properly consulted for far too long. The wrong reaction would be for EU leaders to retreat once more behind closed doors, call off the political process and try to save the parts of the treaty they like best in a constitutional fudge."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/eu/story/0,7369,1495580,00.html