In France the voters wanted to punish Chirac and his conservative government over unemployment that is at a 5-year high of 10.2 percent and other economic problems. Chirac, 72, said before the vote he would not quit even though opinion polls showed his gamble on a referendum rather than a safe ratification vote in parliament was likely to fail. However, he is expected to dismiss unpopular Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin leads the race to replace him ahead of Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie and center-right party leader Nicolas Sarkozy. EU leaders are expected to urge other member states to continue the ratification process despite the rejection by a country that has traditionally been the motor driving EU integration alongside Germany. If the constitution does not survive, the EU will continue to operate under its current rules. But the system is widely seen as unworkable for a Union intent on enlarging further, and voting could soon become paralyzed. Opponents want the EU to redraft the treaty and improve it. They say the charter enshrines economic policies that have failed to stop the loss of jobs to low-wage economies, including countries outside the EU.
Note EU-Digest: Some political analysts are saying that this popular revolt by the voters in France against its mainstream politicians from the left and the right could very well be the beginning of a major worldwide movement against the so-called World Economic Order and Free Market policies promoted by the multi-national corporations and supported by mainstream politicians from the left and the right, who have been bought out by private interest groups. They say that the highly acclaimed World Economic Order has mainly enriched the multi-national-corporations and systematically reduced the earning power of the labor and middle class. "The US, which is also experiencing a disconnect of its politicians with the voters is certainly prone to similar surprises", they say. The French once again are living up to their historical reputation of not fearing to take the bull by the horns. Who knows, years from now, May 29, 2005 might go into the history books as a new Bastille Day, and the EU can only get better for it.
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