Friday, May 27, 2005
COULD THE EU FAIL ?
Tom Hundley of the Chicago Tribune reports:
Such are the depths of Francois Vincent's disdain for the new European constitution that he recently uttered words that have not passed the lips of many Frenchmen.
"I would rather be an American than a European," said Vincent, 63, who owns a vegetable stall in one of Paris' open-air markets. "At least Americans love their country."
Like many Frenchmen who plan to vote "no" in this Sunday's referendum, he is worried that the new European constitution will rob France of some vital piece of its national soul.
Didier Vernet, 53, a stallholder in the same market on Boulevard Raspail, thinks that's nuts.
"Do you think the French will be stupid enough to vote `no'?" he said with a disdain to match Vincent's. "That would really be going backwards."
The French referendum Sunday and another one three days later in the Netherlands have unexpectedly turned into a crisis for the architects of the European Union. Voters in both countries appear ready to ignore the pleadings of their elected leaders and reject the turgid 448-article draft that is supposed to serve as a constitution for the EU's 25 member states.
That soul in danger of being lost is Catholic.
