Campaigning situation
Although the referendum on the Constitution is apparently planned to take place in Spetember/October 2005, it may well occur earlier, in May or June. There is much debate on the limits of EU enlargement, and although polls suggest the Constitution is often discussed in conjunction with the question of Turkish accession to the EU. This issue is highly significant in France, where 69% of the population oppose it. Chirac, who supports Turkey’s bid for full EU membership, urgently wants to separate the issue of Turkish accession from that of the EU Constitution, which he endorses. For this reason, he has announced a separate referendum on Turkish membership of the EU.
The “Group for a Confederation of the States of Europe”, a Gaullist group founded by a former prime minister, a former ambassador and several former ministers, all of varying political backgrounds, but united by concern for the loss of French national sovereignty. A left-wing coalition of communists, trotskyists and ATTAC have also mobilised to oppose the Constitution. Forty one per cent of the Parti Socialiste voted to campaign against the Constitution, and although they lost to a majority of pro-Constitutionalists in the party, some will continue to campaign against it, such as Henri Emmanuel. The governing party UMP has not yet debated the question, while Movement pour la France (MPF) and the extreme right-wing Front National are campaigning for a ‘no’ vote.
The Gaullist ‘no’ campaign plans to use two main approaches:
1. Adoption of the EU Constitution will require extensive alterations to the French Constitution - alterations referred to by some as a “slaughter of the constitution.” – and the campaign will try to mobilise MPs against this constitutional reform. A recently written paper entitled “The Seven Deadly Sins of the Constitution” explains these alterations.
2. Campaigning - The French ‘no’ campaign lacks significant resources and will receive no public funding. The Government is expected to use state apparatus, such as the EP press service, for its pro-Constitution campaign. The ‘no’ campaign is, however, planning to organise a protest event during the European Parliament’s vote on the Cosntitutional text on 12th January.
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