So the French have rejected the EU constitution. While it came as no surprise that the vote (of around 70% turnout) was 55% against, it will still send shockwaves through the European Union. France was one of the founding countries, one of the drivers of the great EU bulldozer. So what will it all mean? Have they just given the wrong answer and be required to go back to the polls until they come up with the right one? Certainly pundits were suggesting that this was a backlash against an unpopular government as much as a rejection of the constitution. Possibly. However, when you think about the ramifications of the constitution, the “no” vote is less surprising. The French rejection is as much about losing the French way as anything else.
I love France and the French way of life. The pace suits me. It is so different to the hurly burly of Britain. That’s why I like it – it is different.. There is a downside to this – French society is heavily regulated and bureaucratic as anyone who has had to deal with it will attest. Red tape is an industry of its own; the state has fingers in every pie. I could relate tales of the French banking system but I won’t, it’s too depressing.
British objection is for the opposite reason. The British are worried that it will bring in more regulation and control into our lives, not open it up to greater free trade and open markets. So there you have it, two counties with entirely different cultures worried about the same, yet opposite influences on their national identities. Now multiply that by the amount of member countries and you won’t be surprised that the Netherlands is also likely to vote no.
Therein lies the problem – homogenisation is guaranteed to unite everyone sooner or later, but for all the wrong reasons. What is going to work in Warsaw just won’t do in Paris and what is going to be just dandy in Berlin will be a disaster in Lisbon.
So why did Spain say yes?
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