From the Yahoo Newswire

The heavy defeat dreaded by EU leaders could weaken France in the 25-member bloc, stall European integration and unsettle some financial markets. It also wounds President Jacques Chirac two years before presidential and parliamentary elections.

"The French people have given a huge smack in the face to an entire system that has the nerve to tell us what to think," said nationalist French politician Philippe de Villiers, a leading opponent of the charter. "The constitution is no more."

Over at Decision '08, Mark summed it up nicely before it became official:

Jacques Chirac is hitting the airwaves urging French voters not to use the ratification vote as a referendum on his government, a statement that is remarkable in two ways. First, it is a frank admission by Chirac that his leadership is deeply unpopular, and second, I think the French voters are correct in using this vote as a referendum, for surely, it is the European style of governance that has lead to the woes befalling the French nation.

Those woes include high unemployment, nearly nonexistent economic growth, and a strong anti-capitalist bias that hinders the inflow of foreign capital. France is a strong example that even in 'mild' doses, socialism is a failure. Chirac is not a tyrant, but he is surely a Eurocrat, and a potent symbol of the European Union as a whole.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit

Posted by Michael at May 29, 2005 10:43 PM