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2005 French European Constitution referendum

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2005 French European Constitution referendum
29 May 2005 (2005-05-29)
Do you approve the bill authorising the ratification of the treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe?
Results
Choice
 Votes %
Yes 12,808,270 45.33%
No 15,449,508 54.67%
Valid votes 28,257,778 97.48%
Invalid or blank votes 730,522 2.52%
Total votes 28,988,300 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout 41,789,202 69.37%
Results by département
Yes:      50–55%      >55%
No:      50–55%      55–60%      > 60%

A referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was held in France on 29 May 2005 to decide whether the French government should ratify the proposed constitution of the European Union. The result was a victory for the "no" campaign, with 55% of voters rejecting the treaty on a turnout of 69%.

France was the second country to go to the polls in a referendum on ratification, after a Spanish referendum approved the treaty by a wide margin in February, but was the first to reject the treaty. France's rejection of the Constitution left the treaty with an uncertain future, with other EU member states pledging to continue with their own arrangements for ratification.

The result was surprising to political commentators, with those in favour of the "yes" vote having received 71% of mentions on television between 1 January and 31 March.[1]

The No-vote was later overridden by the French parliament.

Background

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National referendums on the
European Constitutional Treaty
Superseded by the Treaty of Lisbon (2007)
The text of the European Constitution, as distributed to each French voter

President Jacques Chirac's decision to hold a referendum was thought in some part to have been influenced in part by the surprise announcement that the United Kingdom was to hold a vote of its own, though it was also widely commented that the expected easy victory would also be an expression of confidence in the President. Moreover, it would do much to cement his legacy as a French statesman. It would also have a divisive effect on the opposition Socialist Party.[2] Although the adoption of a Constitution had initially been played down as a 'tidying-up' exercise with no need for a popular vote, as increasing numbers of EU member states announced their intention to hold a referendum, the French government came under increasing pressure to follow suit. The referendum date was announced on 4 March 2005.

However, prior to the referendum, the Constitutional Council of France ruled that the European Constitution could not legally coexist with the current Constitution of France. For that reason, a vote was taken to amend the Constitution of France to make the two documents compatible. This amendment passed in an extraordinary joint session of deputies and senators at the Palace of Versailles on 28 February 2005, with 730 votes in favour and 66 votes against, with 96 abstentions. Both the ruling party and the Socialists supported the constitutional amendment. Communist Party members were the only ones to vote against it.[3]


Campaign

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All the three major political forces, the Union for a Popular Movement, Socialist Party and Union for French Democracy, supported the proposed constitution, as did president Chirac. Supporters of the constitution from the left sought to emphasise that the treaty would incorporate a Charter of Fundamental Rights and thus helped to secure the future of the European social model. Somewhat surprisingly considering his usual political orientation, Jacques Chirac defended it as a possible barrier against neoliberal economic policies.

Olivier Besancenot, José Bové and Jean-Luc Mélenchon at a meeting supporting the "No" vote.

Objections to the constitution in France could be broadly divided into two camps. On the left, many expressed the view that the Constitution would enforce a neoliberal economic model. Among those were some members of the Socialist Party who dissented from the party's stance as decided by its internal referendum, some members of the Green Party (though the party's official policy was also to support ratification), the Communist Party and the Citizen and Republican Movement - a small party allied to the Socialist Party. The Radical Party of the Left, another ally of the Socialist Party, was divided on the question: its main representatives were for the Constitution, while Christiane Taubira, who was candidate for the PRG in 2002, was against it.

Other parties of the hard left, such as the Trotskyist Revolutionary Communist League and Workers' Struggle, as well as associations like ATTAC and trade unions such as the CGT or SUD opposed ratification. These critics sought to link the Constitution to the proposed directive on services in the internal market, which is widely opposed in France.

There were also prominent opponents of the Constitution from the right, notably Nicolas Dupont-Aignan (a Gaullist) and Philippe de Villiers (of the Movement for France), and from the far right, Jean-Marie Le Pen of the National Front, who opposed the Constitution on the grounds that France should not be part of any institution whose decisions can take precedence over what is decided in France at a national level. Another factor in the defeat of the Constitution may have been the linking of the Constitution in the minds of voters with the possibility of the accession of Turkey to the European Union, with which most of the French population disagrees. The British UK Independence Party MEP Nigel Farage used funds from the EU Information Budget to send literature to French households opposing the Constitution.[4]

Socialist Party vote on stance

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On 1 December 2004, the opposition Socialist Party held a vote among its members to determine the stance it would take. The issue of the Constitution had caused considerable divisions within the party, with many members—although broadly in favour of European integration—opposing the Constitution for reasons including a perceived lack of democratic accountability, and the threat they considered it posed to the European social model. The "Yes" side was led by party leader François Hollande while the "No" side was led by deputy leader Laurent Fabius. A former prime minister of France (1984–1986), Laurent Fabius traditionally on the center right of the Socialist Party opted for the No to the Constitution, switching to the left of the party. For many commentators, this paradoxical move was a gamble to get the upper hand within the party before the next presidential elections, in case of success of the No vote.[5]

Within the Socialist Party, out of 127,027 members eligible to vote, 59% voted "Yes", with a turnout of 79%. Out of 102 Socialist Party regional federations, 26 voted "No".

Opinion polls

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Opinion polling had shown the "Yes" and "No" campaigns in the lead at various times, but in the weeks leading up the referendum the "No" campaign consistently held the lead. This led many, even some on the "Yes" side, to predict openly that France would reject the Constitution.[6]

Opinion polling from September 2004 to April 2005
  Yes   No

Results

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Ballots for the referendum.
ChoiceVotes%
For12,808,27045.33
Against15,449,50854.67
Total28,257,778100.00
Valid votes28,257,77897.48
Invalid/blank votes730,5222.52
Total votes28,988,300100.00
Registered voters/turnout41,789,20269.37
Source: Ministry of the Interior

By region

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Region For % Against % Invalid
votes 		Turnout
Alsace 418,268 53.44 364,356 46,56 2.65 68.29
Aquitaine 655,690 42.84 874,793 57.16 2.74 73.38
Auvergne 287,179 42,43 389.707 57,57 3.11 71.88
Burgundy 320,846 41,48 452.703 58,52 2,63 70,16
Brittany 802,273 50,90 773.947 49,10 2,71 73,35
Centre 512,279 43,01 678.832 56,99 2,68 71,81
Champagne-Ardenne 258,028 42,90 343.379 57,10 2,20 68,31
Corsica 45,598 42,24 62.364 57,76 1,33 56,13
Franche-Comté 234,699 42,19 321.565 57,81 2,73 72,98
Guadeloupe 33,779 58,60 23.863 41,40 10,34 22,21
French-Guyana 6,850 60,14 4.541 39,86 9,99 23,11
Île-de-France 2,278,402 53,99 1.941.984 46,01 1,84 70,43
Languedoc-Roussillon 451,225 37,62 748.153 62,38 2,59 72,24
Limousin 157,357 40,75 228.779 59,25 3,56 73,78
Lothringia 467,072 43,57 605.036 56,43 2,18 67,83
Martinique 48,179 69,03 21.620 30,97 9,65 28,37
Midi-Pyrénées 588,830 42,84 785.771 57,16 3,23 74,27
Nord-Pas-de-Calais 661,394 35,12 1.222.089 64,88 2,26 69,29
Basse-Normandie 324,402 44,81 399.501 55,19 2,33 71,88
Haute-Normandie 308,993 35,60 559.020 64,40 2,01 72,37
Pays de la Loire 841,866 50,11 838.038 49,89 3,24 72,11
Picardie 315,959 34,96 587.713 65,04 2,02 72,10
Poitou-Charentes 382,090 44,65 473.609 55,35 3,11 71,78
Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur 860,524 41,21 1.227.731 58,79 1,94 69,26
Réunion 95,298 40,01 142.871 59,99 5,73 53,62
Rhône-Alpes 1,241,229 48,38 1.324.332 51,62 2,47 69,96

By department

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Department For % Against % Valid
votes 		Invalid
votes 		Total
votes 		Registered
voters 		Turnout
Paris 532,040 66.45 268,617 33.55 800,657 13,126 813,783 1,084,114 75.06
Seine-et-Marne 225,904 44.80 278,308 55.20 504,212 10,888 515,100 733,535 70.22
Yvelines 353,085 59.53 240,020 40.47 593,105 10,256 603,361 836,989 72.09
Essonne 236,408 49.29 243,221 50.71 479,629 9,864 489,493 685,325 71.42
Hauts-de-Seine 358,968 61.90 220,915 38.10 579,883 10,201 590,084 826,795 71.37
Seine-Saint-Denis 150,848 38.48 241,151 61.52 391,999 8,194 400,193 637,385 62.79
Val-de Marne 229,880 50.00 229,921 50.00 459,801 8,599 468,400 684,036 68.48
Val-de Oise 191,269 46.53 219,831 53.47 411,100 8,187 419,287 616,343 68.03
Ardennes 47,478 37.21 80,125 62.79 127,603 2,664 130,267 192,179 67.78
Aube 56,807 42.99 75,345 57.01 132,152 3,203 135,355 196,136 69.01
Marne 113,948 46.33 131,988 53.67 245,936 5,193 251,129 370,728 67.74
Haute-Marne 39,795 41.58 55,921 58.42 95,716 2,441 98,157 141,073 69.58
Aisne 85,475 33.25 171,616 66.75 257,091 5,473 262,564 366,193 71.70
Oise 134,591 37.62 223,129 62.38 357,720 6,998 364,718 513,072 71.09
Somme 95,893 33.20 192,968 66.80 288,861 6,192 295,053 400,004 73.76
Eure 100,447 37.10 170,308 62.90 270,755 5,614 276,369 382,292 72.29
Seine-Maritime 208,546 34.92 388,712 65.08 597,258 12,211 609,469 841,738 72.41
Cher 60,935 39.60 92,927 60.40 153,862 4,399 158,261 226,259 69.95
Eure-et-Loir 82,338 42.57 111,075 57.43 193,413 4,973 198,386 279,243 71.04
Indre 44,871 36.72 77,338 63.28 122,209 4,283 126,492 174,877 72.33
Indre-et-Loire 123,389 45.68 146,707 54.32 270,096 6,835 276,931 378,397 73.19
Loir-et-Cher 67,721 41.01 97,425 58.99 165,146 4,648 169,794 232,895 72.91
Loiret 133,025 46.45 153,360 53.55 286,385 7,634 294,019 412,617 71.26
Calvados 142,966 44.24 180,191 55.76 323,157 6,863 330,020 459,573 71.81
Manche 114,958 45.74 136,363 54.26 251,321 6,577 257,898 359,667 71.70
Orne 66,478 44.49 82,947 55.51 149,425 3,815 153,240 211,837 72.34
Côte-d'Or 107,202 46.10 125,347 53.90 232,549 5,385 237,934 331,637 71.75
Nièvre 41,764 36.51 72,635 63.49 114,399 2,966 117,365 166,883 70.33
Saône-et-Loire 107,843 40.70 157,135 59.30 264,978 8,852 273,830 397,394 68.91
Yonne 64,037 39.62 97,586 60.38 161,623 3,718 165,341 236,494 69.91
Nord 437,285 38.06 711,580 61.94 1,148,865 26,103 1,174,968 1,725,296 68.10
Pas-de-Calais 224,109 30.51 510,509 69.49 734,618 17,491 752,109 1,055,794 71.24
Meurthe-et-Moselle 138,272 43.41 180,239 56.59 318,511 6,279 324,790 473,008 68.66
Meuse 39,618 41.39 56,103 58.61 95,721 2,222 97,943 137,901 71.02
Moselle 209,035 45.23 253,176 54.77 462,211 9,824 472,035 721,154 65.46
Vosges 80,147 40.96 115,518 59.04 195,665 5,586 201,251 283,696 70.94
Bas-Rhin 256,189 56.11 200,433 43.89 456,622 12,445 469,067 687,298 68.25
Haut-Rhin 162,079 49.72 163,923 50.28 326,002 8,893 334,895 489,991 68.35
Doubs 110,011 46.14 128,414 53.86 238,425 6,328 244,753 337,752 72.47
Jura 54,899 42.46 74,398 57.54 129,297 3,797 133,094 180,881 73.58
Haute-Saône 46,099 36.78 79,224 63.22 125,323 3,727 129,050 175,160 73.68
Territoire de Belfort 23,690 37.47 39,529 62.53 63,219 1,561 64,780 89,511 72.37
Loire-Atlantique 305,127 51.12 291,722 48.88 596,849 17,585 614,434 844,344 72.77
Maine-et-Loire 192,037 52.99 170,367 47.01 362,404 12,766 375,170 518,825 72.31
Mayenne 77,285 52.37 70,285 47.63 147,570 5,972 153,542 214,687 71.52
Sarthe 113,383 42.58 152,878 57.42 266,261 8,313 274,574 387,989 70.77
Vendée 154,034 50.20 152,786 49.80 306,820 11,634 318,454 441,749 72.09
Côtes-d'Armor 146,445 46.72 166,991 53.28 313,436 8,530 321,966 430,720 74.75
Finistère 232,396 51.12 222,193 48.88 454,589 11,729 466,318 640,668 72.79
Ille-et-Vilaine 240,065 53.81 206,110 46.19 446,175 13,448 459,623 628,199 73.17
Morbihan 183,367 50.65 178,653 49.35 362,020 10,195 372,215 509,176 73.10
Charente 71,631 40.76 104,108 59.24 175,739 5,245 180,984 253,451 71.41
Charente Maritime 130,573 44.38 163,652 55.62 294,225 8,355 302,580 426,181 71.00
Deux-Sèvres 88,433 48.67 93,253 51.33 181,686 7,214 188,900 261,766 72.16
Vienne 91,453 44.82 112,596 55.18 204,049 6,683 210,732 288,959 72.93
Dordogne 83,512 37.64 138,347 62.36 221,859 7,160 229,019 300,288 76.27
Gironde 276,219 43.73 355,495 56.27 631,714 14,663 646,377 886,995 72.87
Landes 79,132 41.64 110,917 58.36 190,049 5,886 195,935 265,975 73.67
Lot-et-Garonne 62,741 38.04 102,203 61.96 164,944 5,372 170,316 230,573 73.87
Pyrénées-Atlantiques 154,086 47.87 167,831 52.13 321,917 10,071 331,988 460,580 72.08
Ariège 28,435 36.28 49,949 63.72 78,384 2,540 80,924 109,384 73.98
Aveyron 71,743 46.52 82,493 53.48 154,236 6,754 160,990 213,821 75.29
Haute-Garonne 240,661 46.10 281,408 53.90 522,069 14,205 536,274 733,866 73.08
Gers 40,949 41.59 57,502 58.41 98,451 3,877 102,328 136,301 75.08
Lot 38,559 40.23 57,282 59.77 95,841 3,266 99,107 128,313 77.24
Hautes-Pyrénées 47,671 38.98 74,636 61.02 122,307 3,644 125,951 170,504 73.87
Tarn 78,028 40.79 113,268 59.21 191,296 7,875 199,171 264,190 75.39
Tarn-et-Garonne 42,784 38.19 69,233 61.81 112,017 3,789 115,806 156,426 74.03
Corrèze 57,351 43.07 75,804 56.93 133,155 4,652 137,807 183,650 75.04
Creuse 25,433 38.06 41,386 61.94 66,819 2,542 69,361 99,706 69.57
Haute-Vienne 74,573 40.06 111,589 59.94 186,162 7,061 193,223 259,304 74.52
Ain 110,194 47.18 123,377 52.82 233,571 6,057 239,628 346,686 69.12
Ardèche 64,249 40.00 96,376 60.00 160,625 4,681 165,306 224,529 73.62
Drôme 93,060 41.78 129,696 58.22 222,756 6,045 228,801 318,483 71.84
Isère 232,316 46.42 268,107 53.58 500,423 12,248 512,671 730,733 70.16
Loire 141,887 44.16 179,386 55.84 321,273 9,790 331,063 485,077 68.25
Rhône 349,663 54.18 295,735 45.82 645,398 14,035 659,433 945,746 69.73
Savoie 90,331 48.63 95,412 51.37 185,743 4,673 190,416 271,196 70.21
Haute-Savoie 159,529 53.94 136,243 46.06 295,772 7,337 303,109 437,412 69.30
Allier 68,600 39.79 103,813 60.21 172,413 5,548 177,961 253,647 70.16
Cantal 38,999 47.44 43,203 52.56 82,202 2,792 84,994 121,975 69.68
Haute-Loire 49,998 42.10 68,759 57.90 118,757 4,475 123,232 168,088 73.31
Puy-de-Dôme 129,582 42.69 173,932 57.31 303,514 8,939 312,453 428,309 72.95
Aude 60,912 35.38 111,233 64.62 172,145 4,660 176,805 241,648 73.17
Gard 116,669 35.91 208,200 64.09 324,869 7,182 332,051 455,217 72.94
Hérault 181,531 39.86 273,892 60.14 455,423 14,019 469,442 654,395 71.74
Lozère 19,409 46.23 22,572 53.77 41,981 1,454 43,435 58,972 73.65
Pyrénées-Orientales 72,704 35.47 132,256 64.53 204,960 4,618 209,578 294,226 71.23
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence 32,072 39.73 48,647 60.27 80,719 2,242 82,961 112,632 73.66
Haute Alpes 30,536 44.13 38,666 55.87 69,202 2,034 71,236 97,823 72.82
Alpes-Maritimes 208,426 47.45 230,818 52.55 439,244 8,549 447,793 668,088 67.03
Bouches-du-Rhône 308,040 38.20 498,413 61.80 806,453 14,541 820,994 1,179,550 69.60
Var 189,811 42.46 257,183 57.54 446,994 8,286 455,280 666,146 68.35
Vaucluse 91,639 37.31 154,004 62.69 245,643 5,682 251,325 350,503 71.70
Corse-du-Sud 20,526 41.29 29,183 58.71 49,709 690 50,399 88,646 56.85
Haute-Corse 25,072 43.04 33,181 56.96 58,253 770 59,023 106,296 55.53
Guadeloupe 33,779 58.60 23,863 41.40 57,642 6,650 64,292 289,443 22.21
Martinique 48,179 69.03 21,620 30.97 69,799 7,453 77,252 272,339 28.37
French Guiana 6,850 60.14 4,541 39.86 11,391 1,264 12,655 54,762 23.11
Réunion 95,298 40.01 142,871 59.99 238,169 14,472 252,641 471,155 53.62
Saint Pierre and Miquelon 1,139 62.69 678 37.31 1,817 62 1,879 4,805 39.11
Mayotte 17,585 86.46 2,754 13.54 20,339 713 21,052 55,904 37.66
Wallis and Futuna 4,772 89.67 550 10.33 5,322 45 5,367 10,385 51.68
French Polynesia 30,649 72.88 11,404 27.12 42,053 696 42,749 157,044 27.22
New Caledonia 35,948 78.77 9,691 21.23 45,639 1,349 46,988 135,217 34.75
Source: European Election Database

Aftermath

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The possible consequences of a "No" vote were highly debated in France before the referendum. Proponents of the Constitution, including Jacques Chirac, claimed that France's standing in Europe would be considerably weakened.

Pro-EU campaigners for a "No" vote (as opposed to those opposing the EU altogether) argue that the Constitution will be renegotiated. "No" vote campaigners, particularly the prominent socialist Laurent Fabius, have labelled this option Plan B. Campaigners for a "Yes" vote have stated that there would be no such Plan B and that the 'European project' could be brought to a standstill for at least ten years.

The perspective of renegotiation quickly appeared illusory after the result of the referendum. First, the challenge of renegotiation was made all the greater by the diversity of reasons for the rejection of the treaty.

Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin was quickly replaced by Dominique de Villepin. UMP leader Nicolas Sarkozy returned to the cabinet as Minister of the Interior.

This rejection, coupled with similar result in the Dutch referendum, seriously damaged the legitimacy of the Constitution; nevertheless, subsequent EU Presidency holders vowed to keep it going.

Sarkozy was elected President of the French Republic in May 2007. Amongst his pledges was a renegotiation and ratification of a treaty (rather than a constitution) without a referendum. Eventually, the new version of the text, the Lisbon Treaty, was voted by the Parliament.

On the internal political scene, the success of the referendum did not have the expected effect on the political landscape. Begrudged by the members of the Socialist Party for his divisive role, Laurent Fabius lost the race to the presidential primaries for the 2007 elections, finishing third (18.66%) behind Segolene Royal (60.65%) and Dominique Strauss-Kahn (20.83%). The proponents of the Yes eventually got the upper hand in the party, and the lasting division of the far left prevented the apparition of a strong opposition force on left of the Socialist Party by the proponents of the No. On the right of the political spectrum, the far right did not benefit from the success of the No and suffered, for the first time in 15 years a strong decline in the 2007 elections.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Comptage des intervenants à la télé de janvier à mars 2005 ("Arrêt sur images", F5)". Acrimed | Action Critique Médias. 10 April 2005.
  2. ^ Fontaine, Andre (4 October 2004). "Can Chirac remain on top?". search.japantimes.co. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011.
  3. ^ "French lawmakers vote opens way for referendum on EU constitution". eubusiness.com. 28 February 2005. Archived from the original on 2 March 2005. Retrieved 1 March 2005.
  4. ^ "Nigel Farage reveals the moment he vowed to fight against the EU". LBC. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  5. ^ Henley, John (1 December 2004). "Euro fighters". The Guardian.
  6. ^ "France names EU referendum date". BBC News. 4 March 2005.
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