Should France Vote to Affirm the EU Constitution?

According to the BBC, new polls in France were 53%-47% in opposition to the new EU constitution. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski joined Jacques Chirac in an all out campaign to plead with the French to vote yes on May 29. The BBC reported that 59% of the french left were against the constitution while 61% of the right were for it.

I believe this vote will give an insigt into the psyche of the French people. The new constitution is economically bad for the French especially in the short term. They stand to lose much of the farm subsidies they currently enjoy. Also many French see the EU becoming an extension of Anglo-Saxon social values and identity. France is not the only EU member hurt by the new constitution, in fact much of the current EU member states are losing in the short term. Greece is going to lose subsidies because the new member states are poorer than Greece which means they will be receiving much of the subsidies Greece now receives.

This new constitution clearly has short term economic impact and could threaten some of the sovereignty European states possess. What would motivate people to vote against their economic interests? First off, not many states actually allowed the people to vote directly on the issue the way the Spain and now France will do. Second, a larger strengthened EU becomes a larger player internationally. In April Chirac said a no vote would would halt the European project in its tracks and pave the way to an unregulated, uncontrolled free-market world dominated by the United States.

Does a united European Union threaten US supremecy? Slightly, they would definitely have more bargaining power as far as international treaties and trade. Many Europeans have been outspoken in their desire to have another super power to balance the US and this does seem to be the way. The term balance implies they would be in opposition to US policies, which suggests their interests run counter to ours.

The problem is there are other states on the rise such as China and India. China already has significant political clout and could be considered a super power. They are modernizing their military and attempting to flex their political muscle in Asia via North Korea and Taiwan.

If China became a significantly bigger political player, then would the EU side with the United States swaying political power to the West? For all of our disagreements Europe and the US still have much more in common than Eastern Countries. This is all hypothetical and years ahead but the vote May 29, will go a long way in exposing the values of the French people and determining the legitimacy of the EU.