Here is what the BBC news division says about the French Socialist party. Any thoughts? And where can I find a copy of the proposed EU constitution, anyway? I'm glad I'm not in charge of drafting that document. It's gotta be difficult to write something that everyone can sign on to without writing a powerless something, a la Wilson's Lague of Nations.
French party holds EU treaty vote
By Caroline Wyatt
BBC Paris correspondent
Francois Hollande and Laurent Fabius take opposing views
France's Socialist Party is due to vote on Wednesday in an internal referendum on whether or not to say "yes" to the European Constitution.
France is due to hold a referendum on it some time in 2005. Opinion polls show the French are undecided.
The man leading the "no" campaign is former Prime Minister Laurent Fabius, now deputy leader of the Socialists.
He has tried to rally supporters by saying he loves Europe too much to let France sign up to a bad treaty.
For him, the European Constitution is simply too Anglo-Saxon, too much about free markets and competition, too little about workers' rights or full employment.
Finely balanced
But others in the French Socialist Party have been horrified by his campaign.
Socialist leader Francois Hollande agrees the constitution is not perfect, but insists that a "no" for the party and the country that helped build Europe will be catastrophic.
And there is a real risk that if the Socialists vote "no", the rest of France might follow suit in the national referendum next year.
At the moment, more than half the French say they have no idea which way to vote, which makes the Socialist decision crucial in swaying public opinion in France.
A decision by the French Left to back a "no" vote in this finely balanced referendum could scupper the EU constitution.
Posted by nickles at December 1, 2004 04:42 PMNumber 1: I'm all for a more Anglo-Saxon EU consitution that emphasizes free-markets and competition. Workers' rights and full employment, as issues for a new international constitution, can go hang.
Number 2: I hope France does vote no. It would be delicious to see them sabotage their own grasp at world dominance by sticking to their snooty and socialist ways.
Posted by: ryan at December 1, 2004 05:20 PMI wanted to read the constitution to see if the document itself had all the same economic slant as the international discussions do. Altough I still haven't read it, it seems like the main purpose of the document is to put everyone on the same economic page...
Posted by: bob at December 3, 2004 12:41 AM