• English Site
• > SPIEGEL Magazine
• > European Union

The Aftermath of France's No Vote

SPIEGEL Interview with Presidential Hopeful Laurent Fabius

Former French Prime Minister Laurent Fabius -- one of the only French Socialists to campaign against the EU constitution -- says if Germany had held a referendum, its people would have rejected the constitution, too. He also outlines his plan for France, Germany and Europe's next moves.

Fabius became a minority voice in the French Socialist Party after he broke with the official party line and campaigned against the EU constitution. Here, he explains why. Plus, he discusses the French left's dicey stand on gloablization and the future of German-French relations. Fabius is considered a potential presidential candidate for 2007 elections.

SPIEGEL: Monsieur Fabius, the European Union is in shock. As the Socialist Party's second highest-ranking official, you played a key role in the success of France's No vote to the constitution. Has the ensuing crisis given you a guilty conscience?

Fabius: Naturally, the No vote makes things very difficult for us, but it didn't trigger the crisis. It only exposed it. Europe's politicians refuse to admit that the problem already existed before the referendum. The No vote didn't just fall from the sky.

SPIEGEL: There have been various and, in some cases, contradictory reasons for people's antipathy toward the constitution. The No voters run the gamut from far right-wing extremists to radical left-wingers. Where do you see a common denominator?

Fabius: What's so interesting and new about this situation is the fact that a majority of No voters are pro-European and voted No for social reasons. There are 20 million unemployed people in Europe and a feeling that Europe can no longer guarantee progress, affluence and social security. The EU expansion was both poorly planned and funded. And, there is a growing alienation between the people and Brussels technocrats and a lack of attractive prospects for its citizens. All of this has made Europe seem insubstantial on a human scale, devoid of a political identity and geographically without boundaries.

SPIEGEL: So how will the EU extract itself from this dead end?

Fabius: With productive new proposals. Specifically, this means preserving the positive elements of the constitution and revising the negative ones. At their upcoming meeting in Brussels, the EU heads of the state will face the task of finding both a method and a time frame for coming up with such proposals.

SPIEGEL: Does this mean that you continue to support a constitution and political union?

Fabius: Of course. After all, the referendums are an expression of both rejection and hope: rejection of the neo-liberal model and hope for a Europe that will be stronger, more progressive and protective, and characterized by greater solidarity. The natural consequence is that we must essentially eliminate the third part of the constitution, which describes the political elements of the union - budget, transportation, environment, energy and so on - under the conditions of free-market competition. As a matter of principle, this kind of language doesn't belong in a constitution, which should be limited to describing the manner in which the institutions operate and our shared values.

SPIEGEL: Does President Jacques Chirac still have the authority to demand and accomplish such changes?

Fabius: I can only hope that the weakening of the president doesn't mean a weakening of France. Chirac speaks for France, at least as long as he is in office. He must now become an interpreter of the will of the people.

SPIEGEL: Couldn't the No vote produce precisely the opposite effect -- more liberalism, less political integration. In other words: the kind of Europe Britain wants?

Fabius: It's a question of will, especially on the part of Germany and France. The dispute with dogmatic liberalism, which provides no solution, must now be brought out into the open.

SPIEGEL: But is the weakened German-French partnership even capable of doing this anymore?

Fabius: The French No has not disturbed the harmony between our two countries. What do you think the outcome would have been if Germany had held a referendum? German-French cooperation remains an historic, political and cultural necessity for Europe's future.

SPIEGEL: But the truth is that the rest of Europe is becoming less and less accepting of the German and French claim to leadership.

Fabius: This is precisely why the two countries must constantly set an example, move forward instead of standing still, and take new initiatives. Germany and France should present a solidarity plan for the new member states in Eastern Europe as quickly as possible. They can move even closer together on a bilateral basis -- in continuing to develop a common defense policy, for example, in combining their seats at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, which would make us the second-strongest global power within these institutions, and in formulating a shared aid policy for Africa. Such measures would demonstrate that the German-French motor is still going strong.

SPIEGEL: German Chancellor Schröder could soon be replaced by Angela Merkel, the pro-American CDU (Christian Democratic Union) candidate who tends to be skeptical when it comes to France. Are left-wing politics even possible in Europe these days?

Fabius: Aside from the principle of European solidarity, the political left is driven by a fundamental cause that is central to its identity: the struggle to reestablish the equilibrium between labor and capital.

SPIEGEL: Isn't it already lost, in the age of globalization?

Fabius: The European Left cannot accept unchecked globalization, otherwise it will lose its basis for existence. But it also cannot lose itself in the utopia of blind, total resistance. We must find a balance between acknowledgement of the principle of reality and rejection of fatalism.

SPIEGEL: How does this dialectic translate into a political program?

Fabius: Internal renewal and external protection. If we allow a German or French worker to compete with a Romanian or Chinese worker, and if we say, may the lowest wage-earner win, then the Left might as well abdicate. One can never sink to a low enough level in this downward spiral. But if did take that approach, we would be honking our horns and crashing into a wall at the same time, and we would end up with a popular revolt in the streets.

SPIEGEL: So more protectionism instead of free trade?

Fabius: We don't want a fortress Europe. However, the EU, in its negotiations with the United States, China and other major economic powers, must be capable of enforcing its regulatory principles -- minimum social standards, environmental criteria, currency issues, import duties. China's currency is undervalued by about 50 percent over the euro. That's not exactly what I would call unadulterated competition.

SPIEGEL: What should Europe do to boost its competitiveness?

Fabius: In addition to these defensive economic tools we use in dealing with other countries, we need internal reforms so that we can remain at the top when it comes to technological innovation. Most importantly, we need investment in research and education. Why shouldn't Brussels be allowed to take up its own loans to finance common infrastructure undertakings or selected scientific and technical projects?

SPIEGEL: France's No has also triggered a domestic political crisis. Is the country facing a period of political helplessness?

Fabius: As an optimist, I say that every ending is a beginning. We need a change. But I'm afraid that we have already lost too much time. France needs a fundamental democratic renewal of its institutions, particularly a strengthening of the role of parliament and more independence for the prime minister. There is something wrong in our system, a system based solely on the dominant position of a president who answers to no one and has no counterweight.

SPIEGEL: French voters supported you in your decision to vote No, but your party punished you for your stance and removed you from its leadership. How will you deal with this?

Fabius: Allow me to quote the deceased statesman Edgar Faure. "It is a great wrong to be right."

SPIEGEL: Are you already thinking about the next presidential election in just under two years?

Fabius: Only half-seriously. There are so many politicians who claim they are not thinking about the presidential election that we may end up having trouble finding a candidate.

INTERVIEW: ROMAIN LEICK

Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan