French President Jacques Chirac bowed to pressure from across the political spectrum by announcing on Wednesday that France will hold a referendum on whether to adopt the European Constitution, signalling the start of a fraught campaign to ensure the government secures a yes vote.
Ending months of uncertainty, Chirac said a vote will take place in the second half of next year.
”The French people are concerned directly, and will therefore be consulted directly and so there will be a referendum,” he said during his annual Bastille Day interview.
Earlier Chirac watched as British troops led the July 14 parade down the Champs Elysées for the first time, to mark the 100th anniversary of the entente cordiale.
The delay in announcing the referendum reflects the political risks involved in putting the question to the country and Chirac’s nervousness over whether he can guarantee popular support for the treaty.
France’s decision raises the stakes further for the Constitution, which has to be approved by all 25 member countries before it can take effect. Although opinion polls show a majority of French people favouring the Constitution, any mid-term vote risks becoming an opportunity for the voters to express their discontent with Chirac.
France has a problematic history with referendums. François Mitterrand had difficulties in 1992 when he called for a national vote on the Maastricht treaty on European economic and monetary union; only a narrow majority backed the treaty.
Last year the government lost a referendum on greater autonomy for Corsica amid speculation that some voters had used the opportunity to protest against Chirac.
The risk for the government is intensified by hostility towards the European Union. Although France was a driving force behind the EEC in 1957, this year’s enlargement has heightened concern over its diminishing role.
A study by the European commission before the entry, on May 1, of 10 new members showed that France was the only one of the 15 existing members with a majority, about 55%, opposed to enlargement.
Experts said a further complicating factor is likely to be the now near-certain EU decision in December to launch accession negotiations with Turkey.
Chirac supports Turkey’s entry but 66% of French people questioned in a recent poll said they were opposed.
”It could be touch and go for a referendum,” one Brussels official said on Wednesday night. ”France is increasingly sceptical these days.”
The Constitution, drafted by former French president Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, was adopted at last month’s Brussels summit and is designed to streamline procedures and decision-making for a union of 25 or more.
It also foresees the creation of an EU president and an EU foreign minister, and is due to be signed in Rome at the end of October.
Chirac was said to be furious at British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s announcement in April that Britain will hold a referendum, believing, like other EU leaders, that the prime minister will be hard pressed to win a vote, and that the British decision will force him to bow to demands for his own referendum.
The decision will please Chirac’s main rival, Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who has called for a referendum.
But Chirac used Wednesday’s interview to fire a warning shot against Sarkozy.
He denied there is any antagonism between them, adding: ”For one simple reason … I decide, he executes.” — Guardian Unlimited Â