France raises a glass to Ireland

FRENCH President Nicolas Sarkozy is visiting Dublin on Monday.

As he is so absent-minded, he might just forget to thank you in the name of the people of France for rejecting the Lisbon Treaty.

We would like the Irish people to know that your decision was met with tremendous gratification in France. Millions of French people (but not the ruling class) lifted their glasses to you.

Of course, you voted above all in your own interests, and you were right to do so. But you were also aware that your nation was the only one whose electorate was being consulted. European rulers were counting on you to annul the no vote of the French and Dutch people in 2005.

You did not go along with the attempt by Brussels to play off one people against another.

This is why the overwhelming majority in France (and probably in all other EU member nations as well) are tremendously grateful.

The French president will visit Dublin (for a few hours), as he says, “to understand the reasons behind the no vote”.

For that, he could simply stay in Paris: the reasons for your no vote are essentially the same as they were for ours in France.

“The Irish will have to vote again”, Sarkozy dared declare before visiting Dublin. Again he is attempting to impose an unwanted treaty by ordering the Irish to vote in a second referendum while depriving his compatriots of their right to vote.

Does he believe it will be easier to get the Irish to reverse their decision (through basically meaningless ‘commitments’) than the French? He adds contempt to arrogance. Were it not so serious, it could be almost comical: every time a nation’s people are consulted, they reject the project of the European elite who then decide to defy the results and stop asking.

And in the only country where the vote is obligatory they want the electorate to continue voting until they get their ‘correct’ result.

To treat citizens as undisciplined children is an insult to all peoples.

Proceeding with such impertinence, so typical of the EU, the French president and his European friends are in fact creating conditions for a stronger no vote although one should not underestimate the power and resources that would be used by the yes side in a second referendum.

In any case, you should know the French are scandalised by the attitude of their president. And they have confidence in the wisdom of their Irish friends.

Maurice Bourjol

Dean of Law,

Tours University

Bruno Drweski

Professor l’INALCO (International Cultural Studies)

Yvon Grinda

Chief Executive, Chemistry,

Alpes-Maritimes

Pierre Levy

Journalist

Philippe Marteau

Union Executive

CGT ONIGC