So the French have said Non. It reminds of the day the news came out that Ireland voted No – I remember at the time some French commentators slating us for our ‘anti-European’ stance. Looks like we weren’t the only ones to have reservations about the deepending of powers in the EU.
Chirac’s comments are interesting:
France has democratically expressed itself. You have rejected the European constitution by a majority. It is your sovereign decision and I take note of it. Nevertheless, our ambitions and interests are profoundly linked to Europe.
He ends his speech with:
In the coming days I will announce my decisions on the government and its priorities.
It is interesting that immediately after noting the democratic decision of France, he talks about how the situation can be resolved. In Ireland the reaction was, very quickly, that another unchanged referendum would be held, with enough time to scare the Irish people into not rejecting it again.