Press warn French “no” will weaken EU
The Swiss press view the French rejection of the EU constitution as a vote against not only the political elite but also uncertainty and globalisation.
The commentaries highlight the uncertain future of the European Union and fear that it could lose its dynamism.
“France at crossroads”, “France slams doors shut”, “Lesson for leaders”, “Second French Revolution”, “Asterix says No!’ – these are some of the headlines in Swiss newspapers following the solid rejection of the EU constitution by French voters.
Le Matin got straight down to business: “The massive rejection of the constitution by 55 per cent of French people has started a crisis for Europe.”
“The size of the rejection has created a new political upheaval in France, two years after the upsurge of the Far Right in the second round of the presidential elections.”
The French-language paper believed one of the highest voter turnouts in France in recent decades “reflects the strong rallying of French people after a campaign which has gripped and split the country”.
“The French have opened the floodgates for further negative referendums.”
The main Italian-speaking daily, Corriere del Ticino, said the political elite was sanctioned for its lack of respect for public opinion.
“The EU woke up with a hangover and the nasty feeling of being punished for somebody else’s fault.”
“Wrong” decision
The Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) said: “The first explanation of the rejection is that the voters grabbed the chance to teach President Chirac and his government a lesson.”
“Another explanation is that the result is a result of fear and defence.”
“The ‘no’ was determined fundamentally by unrelated and emotional factors – and as such it was a ‘wrong’ decision.”
“This referendum should not, however, be interpreted as a renunciation of the EU. A withdrawal is not even being discussed in France.”
Der Bund added: “The EU won’t collapse, but the constitution is dead. That means that the EU will remain weak when making decisions and it will lose all dynamism.
“Further political integration will not happen and the planned enlargement – especially that with Turkey – is out of reach.
“The economic goals of integration will take priority over everything else – which is why the leftwing ‘no’ supporters have scored an own goal. Only a strong EU can resist the unbridled capitalism against which national states are powerless.”
Suicidal arrogance
For Der Bund, there was “no argument against the fear of social disintegration, anti-globalisation, nationalistic reactions and general mistrust of Brussels”.
It said the verdict of the French people didn’t come from a mood but from an intensive debate. “This gives the vote added weight.”
However for the Basler Zeitung “the responsibility for the fiasco lies with the suicidal arrogance of the leadership in Paris, who forced the people into a decision, as though there were only one politically, morally and intellectually permissible answer”.
Blame game
In the media blame game, French President Jacques Chirac was obviously prime target.
The Berner Zeitung declared: “After this voting battle there are few winners, but many losers – above all Jacques Chirac. The people have rejected their president as a leader – is that not a reason to resign?”
The NZZ didn’t think so: “He will, however, change his head of government – and then he’ll stick it out until the elections in two years.”
“Chirac is standing before shattered remains,” it added. “He organised a plebiscite in order to go down in history as a great president with a European halo. But things turned out differently – the lustre has gone.”
People power
Some Swiss papers couldn’t resist smug digs when discussing the workings of referendums.
The Tages-Anzeiger said some people in Europe were doubting “whether it was right to let ‘simple’ citizens decide on the fate of European integration”.
“With referendums – perfectly natural in Switzerland – individual EU states are entering new political territory.
“Direct democracy only works properly when it’s not at the discretion of those in power if and when the people are consulted.”
The NZZ noted that “the EU Council president, Jean-Claude Juncker, said before the vote that if there was a ‘no’, the French would have to vote again in order to get the ‘correct answer’.
“As Obelix, the heavyweight embodiment of so-called common sense, would ask: what’s the point in voting if you’re only allowed to say ‘yes’?”
Der Bund hoped that “maybe in future diplomats in Brussels will have a greater appreciation for the unpredictable machinations of Swiss referendums”.
swissinfo
Almost 54.87 per cent of people voted “no”, with 45.13 per cent in favour, according to final interior ministry figures.
Turnout was high at about 70 per cent.
The big cities tended to vote “yes” – apart from Marseilles. In Paris 66 per cent voted “yes”.
French voters have rejected the European Union’s proposed constitution in a key referendum.
The vote could deal a fatal blow to the EU constitution, which needs to be ratified by all 25 members states before 2006.
Eight national referendums are still to come, including one in the Netherlands on Wednesday.
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