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Giscard demands second chance for EU constitution in France
23.05.2006 - 09:47 CET
By Mark Beunderman
The architect of the EU constitution and former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing has called for the charter to be ratified in France through a new referendum or a parliamentary vote.
Mr Giscard d'Estaing was the chairman of the European Convention, a body of EU politicians which presented the draft EU constitution in 2003, and has since been lobbying for his text despite "no" votes on the charter in France and the Netherlands last year.
The French politician again strongly defended the constitution in an interview with the FT on Tuesday (23 May).
"It is not France that has said no. It is 55 percent of the French people - 45 percent of the French people said yes ," he said.
"I wish that we will have a new chance, a second chance, for the constitutional project."
Mr Giscard d'Estaing indicated that the treaty could be put to French voters in a second referendum, or be ratified by the French parliament.
"People have the right to change their opinion. The people might consider they made a mistake ," he said on a possible new referendum.
Giscard demands second chance for EU constitution in France
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If people vote for a dictatorship, is it a legitimate state? What if 45 percent vote for a dictatorship? What if parliament passes a law instating a dictatorship? How far are the French willing to go before they rise up and hang the elites? Will they? Or will they simply stop having children to live with the mess till the Muslims take over, ruin the world they live in, and die of starvation because there's no one left to supply them with the material goods they require to survive? Should we care?
4 comments:
@ dag
Thanks for this tip. I'm borrowing it for Galliawatch. Hope your injury is causing you less and less distress.
You have many fine articles on France.
Hi Tiberge.
Thank you for your comments. I must insist that it is Charles who is our resident French expert, I sharing only a love of French culture to the point that I will volunteer to stand at the barricades with anyone, or even alone if I mus, to defend the greatness of the nation. I might find myself staniding at the barricades with Armenians and Greeks and Koreans and Jews. I would be proud and honored to do so. But I know I will be a speck in Paris, surrounded by French patriots, Red, White, and Blue.
France transcends our national boundaries. France, from the time of the Battle of Hastings to the Battle of Agincourt to this hour and beyond is one with my own, regardless of how it's come about. We would have Chaucer but not Shakespeare if not for France; and France would have Chanson du Roland but not Racine if not for the English. As much as we might fight at times we are as inseperable from our ties as brothers and sisters. Ours is a great family, and I don't think it's possible that we will let each other suffer beyond reason and into a state of defeat.
The French will prevail.
you are right to wonder if other european should not let the french in their poor situation. But the same phenomenon is happening eveyrwhere in europe: the netherlands, italy (cf Prodi's programme), Germany,Belgium or UK. The only difference is that france hasa 10 year advance decline.
we are going towards an ethnic civil war that is sure. but don't let archaic nationalism prevail over the western world crisis.
raph
We pay close attention to the situation and situations in Europe, ranging from France to Sweden, Finland to Bulgaria-- and Armenia. I find myself frantic when I read-- or worse, encounter in person-- the doom of Europe. However, many people feel as frustrated and anguished as do many Europeans. I've written here on the International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War as a way of encouraging thought among us to conclude that we are a part of Modernity under threat, into simply people here or there plugged into iPods and laptops. Attacking France attacks me personally. France is my intellectual heritage, from Rabelais to Baudelaire. I won't lose that without fighting to the end to keep it and to pass it on to others. Nor will I allow our own to squander our common heritage. It's ours in trusteeship. It's mine, and not for others to decide they will ruin our heritage on a whim.
Ours is a great time. We will not only prevail, we will take the Revolutions to the world.
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