2005 French European Constitution referendum

The French referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was held on 29 May 2005 to decide whether France 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%.

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 (over 55%)
  Yes (between 50% and 55%)
  No (between 50% and 55%)
  No (between 55% and 60%)
  No (over 60%)

The question put to voters was:

Approuvez-vous le projet de loi qui autorise la ratification du traité établissant une Constitution pour l'Europe ?
"Do you approve the bill authorising the ratification of the treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe?"

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]

Campaign
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Superseded by the Treaty of Lisbon (2007)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 date was announced on 4 March 2005. 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.[3]

Socialist Party vote on stance

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.[4]

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".

Amendment to the French Constitution

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.[5]

Opinion polls and course of the campaign
Polls on voting intentions for the referendum on the European Constitution in France (September 2004 - April 2005)
  Yes
  No

Initial opinion polls showed a clear majority in favour of the Constitution, but public opposition grew over time. By May, the "Yes" campaign's lead was smaller than the opinion pollsters' margin of error.

The three major political forces in France (UMP, PS and UDF) 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.[6]

Results
Ballots for the referendum.

National results
French European Constitution referendum, 2005
Choice Votes  %
Referendum failed No 15,449,508 54.67
Yes 12,808,270 45.33
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
Source: French Minister of the Interior

Results by region
Region Invalid votes

(%)

 Turnout

(%)

Yes  % No  %
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


Results by département
Département Valid

votes

 Invalid

votes

 Total

Votes

 Electorate
Yes % No %
Paris532,040 268,617 800,65713,126813,7831,084,114
Seine-et-Marne225,904 278,308 504,21210,888515,100733,535
Yvelines353,085 240,020 593,10510,256603,361836,989
Essonne236,408 243,221 479,6299,864489,493685,325
Hauts-de-Seine358,968 220,915 579,88310,201590,084826,795
Seine-Saint-Denis150,848 241,151 391,9998,194400,193637,385
Val-de Marne229,880 229,921 459,8018,599468,400684,036
Val-de Oise191,269 219,831 411,1008,187419,287616,343
Ardennes47,478 80,125 127,6032,664130,267192,179
Aube56,807 75,345 132,1523,203135,355196,136
Marne113,948 131,988 245,9365,193251,129370,728
Haute-Marne39,795 55,921 95,7162,44198,157141,073
Aisne85,475 171,616 257,0915,473262,564366,193
Oise134,591 223,129 357,7206,998364,718513,072
Somme95,893 192,968 288,8616,192295,053400,004
Eure100,447 170,308 270,7555,614276,369382,292
Seine-Maritime208,546 388,712 597,25812,211609,469841,738
Cher60,935 92,927 153,8624,399158,261226,259
Eure-et-Loir82,338 111,075 193,4134,973198,386279,243
Indre44,871 77,338 122,2094,283126,492174,877
Indre-et-Loire123,389 146,707 270,0966,835276,931378,397
Loir-et-Cher67,721 97,425 165,1464,648169,794232,895
Loiret133,025 153,360 286,3857,634294,019412,617
Calvados142,966 180,191 323,1576,863330,020459,573
Manche114,958 136,363 251,3216,577257,898359,667
Orne66,478 82,947 149,4253,815153,240211,837
Côte-d'Or107,202 125,347 232,5495,385237,934331,637
Nièvre41,764 72,635 114,3992,966117,365166,883
Saône-et-Loire107,843 157,135 264,9788,852273,830397,394
Yonne64,037 97,586 161,6233,718165,341236,494
Nord437,285 711,580 1,148,86526,1031,174,9681,725,296
Pas-de-Calais224,109 510,509 734,61817,491752,1091,055,794
Meurthe-et-Moselle138,272 180,239 318,5116,279324,790473,008
Meuse39,618 56,103 95,7212,22297,943137,901
Moselle209,035 253,176 462,2119,824472,035721,154
Vosges80,147 115,518 195,6655,586201,251283,696
Bas-Rhin256,189 200,433 456,62212,445469,067687,298
Haut-Rhin162,079 163,923 326,0028,893334,895489,991
Doubs110,011 128,414 238,4256,328244,753337,752
Jura54,899 74,398 129,2973,797133,094180,881
Haute-Saône46,099 79,224 125,3233,727129,050175,160
Territoire de Belfort23,690 39,529 63,2191,56164,78089,511
Loire-Atlantique305,127 291,722 596,84917,585614,434844,344
Maine-et-Loire192,037 170,367 362,40412,766375,170518,825
Mayenne77,285 70,285 147,5705,972153,542214,687
Sarthe113,383 152,878 266,2618,313274,574387,989
Vendée154,034 152,786 306,82011,634318,454441,749
Côtes-d'Armor146,445 166,991 313,4368,530321,966430,720
Finistère232,396 222,193 454,58911,729466,318640,668
Ille-et-Vilaine240,065 206,110 446,17513,448459,623628,199
Morbihan183,367 178,653 362,02010,195372,215509,176
Charente71,631 104,108 175,7395,245180,984253,451
Charente Maritime130,573 163,652 294,2258,355302,580426,181
Deux-Sèvres88,433 93,253 181,6867,214188,900261,766
Vienne91,453 112,596 204,0496,683210,732288,959
Dordogne83,512 138,347 221,8597,160229,019300,288
Gironde276,219 355,495 631,71414,663646,377886,995
Landes79,132 110,917 190,0495,886195,935265,975
Lot-et-Garonne62,741 102,203 164,9445,372170,316230,573
Pyrénées-Atlantiques154,086 167,831 321,91710,071331,988460,580
Ariège28,435 49,949 78,3842,54080,924109,384
Aveyron71,743 82,493 154,2366,754160,990213,821
Haute-Garonne240,661 281,408 522,06914,205536,274733,866
Gers40,949 57,502 98,4513,877102,328136,301
Lot38,559 57,282 95,8413,26699,107128,313
Hautes-Pyrénées47,671 74,636 122,3073,644125,951170,504
Tarn78,028 113,268 191,2967,875199,171264,190
Tarn-et-Garonne42,784 69,233 112,0173,789115,806156,426
Corrèze57,351 75,804 133,1554,652137,807183,650
Creuse25,433 41,386 66,8192,54269,36199,706
Haute-Vienne74,573 111,589 186,1627,061193,223259,304
Ain110,194 123,377 233,5716,057239,628346,686
Ardèche64,249 96,376 160,6254,681165,306224,529
Drôme93,060 129,696 222,7566,045228,801318,483
Isère232,316 268,107 500,42312,248512,671730,733
Loire141,887 179,386 321,2739,790331,063485,077
Rhône349,663 295,735 645,39814,035659,433945,746
Savoie90,331 95,412 185,7434,673190,416271,196
Haute-Savoie159,529 136,243 295,7727,337303,109437,412
Allier68,600 103,813 172,4135,548177,961253,647
Cantal38,999 43,203 82,2022,79284,994121,975
Haute-Loire49,998 68,759 118,7574,475123,232168,088
Puy-de-Dôme129,582 173,932 303,5148,939312,453428,309
Aude60,912 111,233 172,1454,660176,805241,648
Gard116,669 208,200 324,8697,182332,051455,217
Hérault181,531 273,892 455,42314,019469,442654,395
Lozère19,409 22,572 41,9811,45443,43558,972
Pyrénées-Orientales72,704 132,256 204,9604,618209,578294,226
Alpes-de

Haute-Provence

 32,072 48,647 80,7192,24282,961112,632
Haute Alpes30,536 38,666 69,2022,03471,23697,823
Alpes-Maritimes208,426 230,818 439,2448,549447,793668,088
Bouches-du-Rhône308,040 498,413 806,45314,541820,9941,179,550
Var189,811 257,183 446,9948,286455,280666,146
Vaucluse91,639 154,004 245,6435,682251,325350,503
Corse-du-Sud20,526 29,183 49,70969050,39988,646
Haute-Corse25,072 33,181 58,25377059,023106,296
Guadeloupe33,779 23,863 57,6426,65064,292289,443
Martinique48,179 21,620 69,7997,45377,252272,339
French Guiana6,850 4,541 11,3911,26412,65554,762
Réunion95,298 142,871 238,16914,472252,641471,155
Saint Pierre and Miquelon1,139 678 1,817621,8794,805
Mayotte17,585 2,754 20,33971321,05255,904
Wallis and Futuna4,772 550 5,322455,36710,385
French Polynesia30,649 11,404 42,05369642,749157,044
New Caledonia35,948 9,691 45,6391,34946,988135,217
Source: European Election Database Archived 24 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine

Consequences

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

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