h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Looking in dismay at the ruins of the battlefield.

Here is a rough adaptation of an editorial by Serge July, the influential editor-in-chief of Libération, a clear-sighted diagnosis of the state of hte patient...

"Faced with a world that is running too fast, and rebelling against the cowardice of the leaders who have ruled France for two decades, it is their fear, their pain, their anguish and their anger that French left-wing voters have bluntly expressed at the ballot box. As is the rule in such cases, all it needed were self-proclaimed and makeshift leaders to fan the flames of the national feeling of angst. Some made blunder after blunder, others opted for bare-faced lies. The end-result is a nationwide disaster and an epidemic of populist rhetoric which is destroying everything in its path, the construction of Europe, enlargement, the ruling elites, market regulations, the reform movement, an international vision, and even generosity of spirit.

Europe is the great loser of all the referenda that this one in fact contained..

First it was a referendum on enlargement : between the prospect of Turkey's membership looming (and the shameless targeting of Muslims) and the wretched "Polish plumber" supposed to take jobs away from the French, foreigners have been told they were not welcome. That Le Pen should be xenophobic is no surprise, it is after all his stock-in-trade, but hearing Socialist leaders campaigning on this theme, like Chirac in 2002 fuelling the phobia of insecurity, was unheard-of.

Second, it was a referendum on the ruling elites: the government, Brussels, all the media and anyone who dares to advocate a decision-making system that would enable the birth of a political Europe : all these have been branded as the "France d'en-haut", the France from above, and the "France d'en-bas", that is the France down below is keen to give them a good lesson, perhaps even to cut off a few heads. The rift between the ruling elite and the populace is typical of populist periods of history.

Thirs, it was a referendum of the free market. It is ludicrous for the Socialist leaders, and for most of the political class, to lower themselves to using the arguments used in the campaign literature of Attac, just as it was ludicrous in the 1970s to hear Mitterrand advocate a breakaway from capitalism. This year, it was not capitalism that was on the hot seat but what the French call "libéralisme", market forces. Voters were expected to say yes or no to competition, yes or no to globalisation!

Fourth, it was a referendum on the status of France. At last, by upsetting the European cart, France has proved it is a power to reckon with. Let other Europeans kneel before our "Non"! Political leaders have told lies about the possibility of renegotiating the treaty, as if the rest of Europe was ready to grant France's every wish. Either a new vote will be organised, or it is the end of Europe as a political power : the movement to abandon all European ambition is fast gaining momentum.

Finally it was a referendum on the social situation of the country. Socialism in one country is just round the corner, they said! Whereas Europe is the only entity on the planet with a social dimension, which the charter on social rights would have propped up. Nonsense! If some No campaigners are to be believed, Europe is in fact a hotbed of unbridled competition, where market forces rule unimpeded : the truth has at last been told, they think.

To achieve this masterpiece of masochism, it took more than the usual ultra-nationalists (the "souverainistes"), it took a political ruling class trained to bury its head in the sand, which has for years fallen into the habit of lying, it took notorious second-rate leaders among whom the President himself, and hard-boiled cynics who numbered a former Socialist Prime Minister.

The sick man of Europe has taken a turn for the worse..."

Thanks for posting this Martine - I'd been wondering what the French press had to say on the result.

Morning Martine,

To be honest, there is a certain corner of me (the area of the cerebral cortex not ruled by a muddle of indo-european genes) which says HAH! the French are no more sophisticated than the British are when it comes to a 2-way fight at the ballot box.

What surprises me lot is to hear the Thatcherite word raise its ugly head again after a few years of blissful absence- one of those strange word pairs: we say "laissez-faire" economics, you say Thatcherite and anglo-saxon, the US says Free trade, you say Liberal trade practices. (I assume by A/S, US/UK sensibility is intended.) (We speak of French letters, you speak of le capôt anglais.)

What surprises me a little is the automatic assumption by both sides of the argument, in France and outside, that the French failure to ratify would "effectively de-rail the EU Constitution." In combination with a Dutch No vote, perhaps. Some parties claim that will be business as usual. (Well I can only put my finger on the President of Luxembourg at the minute, but I think there are others). Blair was undoubtedly hoping to delay as long as possible so that we would be faced with either a fait accompli or a notional bargaining position - probably wouldn't have mattered which one.

What doesn't surprise at all are the unholy bedfellows of left and right when faced with the Polish plumber and the Turkish brick-layer. In the UK at least, much of the labour movement grew out of friendly societies and other self-help protectionist groups, as well as the co-operative movements. There has long been an unspoken understanding between lefty thinkers and the workers that "protecting jobs and services" means keeping others out unless strictly necessary.

Diane Abbott on tv last week opined that the EU had always been an "Elite Project" and that No votes on the Constitution might force politicians to actually engage the argument with people on the ground.
It's true that the debate here e.g. on joining the Euro, which is decidedly live, is essentially between small business and bigger business. The "ideal" of Europe has never really taken off.

petal jam

I hope and trust other countries will go ahead and have their own vote. It would be the final nail in the coffin if they were to take the self-important French rhetoric seriously.

Quite agree with everything you say on the borrowings of language. We are in the ludicrous position of having a beautiful word like "liberal" with all its connotations of the Enlightenment and so on being used as the ultimate insult.

Also true about workers with sheltered jobs unwilling to show solidarity. I hope France will learn a little well-deserved modesty.

When you come to think of it, Chirac went wrong before the Iraq war when he scotched a second resolution by saying France would veto it anyway. If France had waited for a second vote to be taken and for people to count themselves, much might have been changed in the balance of power in Europe.

He was in tune with his public opinion, Blair wasn't. Guess who wins votes.

La capote actually.