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Thursday, Mar 10, 2005

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FRANCE'S COMING REFERENDUM

FRANCE IS ALL set to hold a referendum on the Constitution; the vote is scheduled for May 29. Last week, its Parliament adopted by a big margin the necessary amendment to the national constitution to facilitate the exercise. One of the six founder-members of the EU, France has been in the forefront of greater integration — pushing for the removal of trade barriers, creation of the Economic and Monetary Union, and substantial enlargement of the membership of the confederation. Because it has sought, in recent years, to strike a fine balance between its European commitments and its distinctive domestic policies, some of its strong pro-European credentials have come under strain. On the one hand, the Elysee Palace's failure to ensure that the fiscal deficit stayed under three per cent of gross domestic product pushed the country to the brink of penal procedures under the EU Growth and Stability Pact. On the other hand, the Government's attempts to reduce public spending have aroused suspicion that France's long-cherished social contract is under threat from Europeanisation. The bureaucratic nature of integration, initiated largely from Brussels, means that long-term objectives of the EU are often overshadowed by local and immediate concerns of the people. It is no surprise therefore that the Government was reticent about holding a referendum on the European Constitution. There was even a proposal to secure its endorsement in a joint session of the German and French Parliaments. The eventual decision to hold a referendum was influenced in no small measure by overwhelming popular sentiment, not to mention similar decisions by 10 other countries including the United Kingdom.

Although in theory the vast exercise in direct democracy seeks to elicit a verdict on the Constitution, many domestic issues are expected to figure in the run-up to the referendum. The French Government's proposal to relax the 35-hour working week, the growing unemployment rate — at 10 per cent the highest in five years — and the EU directive to allow cross-national competition in services have evoked strong opposition. Mass demonstrations in recent weeks have also confirmed growing fears of a backlash on the contentious question of starting negotiations on Turkey's admission to the EU. The issue has forced the French Government to include a provision in the latest constitutional amendment promising a national referendum on future enlargement. Given such an array of problematical issues, it is no surprise that a section within and outside the ruling Popular Movement Party (UMP) is eager to project the referendum as a vote of confidence in Jacques Chirac's conservative Government. Europhiles among the ruling conservatives as well as the opposition Socialist Party have a unique opportunity in the coming weeks to dispel misgivings about a widely perceived `contradiction' — Frenchness versus Europeanisation.

The European Constitution needs approval from all 25 member states if it is to come into force by late 2006. A second referendum is a possibility in some of the smaller states in case voters respond with a `no' the first time. France is among the ten countries that have taken the bold step of going for the extra-legitimacy that will be conferred by direct and explicit popular approval even when there is no constitutional or legal obligation to do so. A `no' by one of the founder-members is likely to throw the rest of the process in jeopardy. In the French case, moreover, the verdict of the referendum will bind Parliament. The last thing the higher political stage of European integration aspired for needs is apathy laced with Europhile over-confidence.

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