The European Union Review, Vol. 11 No. 1 - March 2006

L’échec de la Constitution européenne en France

Jean-Claude Gautron - Université Montesquieu-Bordeaux IV, France

Abstract

France’s rejection of the European constitution in the recent referendum represents a significant blow to the constitutional ratification process. The decision reflects a wider ideological crisis whose origins go back to the 1990s and the Member States’ decision to draw up a EU Treaty with objectives far greater than any foreseen by previous European Treaties. From a systemic perspective Europe’s crisis has been tracked by turbulence in the ex-USSR, the most evident consequence of which has been enlargement of the EU eastwards. An additional problem for Europe is the difficult economic situation, highlighted by significantly better performances recorded by the EU’s major competitors, the US and China in particular. In the light of these considerations, the paper starts by identifying the major reasons for the French referendum result, and then, in the wake of the decision, analyses possible openings for the European constitutional process. Current opportunities for the definition of a constitution, at least in a material sense, are seen above all to lie at ECJ jurisprudence and institutions’ practices.