France Backing out of the EU?!

Well, not quite. But it appears that the French public is losing confidence in the European Union. Local issues are showing the weakness of a Europe-wide government in dealing with on-the-ground problems. It seems I am not alone in feeling that Geneva-located bureaucrats have little interest in the well-being of Parisians.

France's political elite was stunned on Friday by an opinion poll that showed for the first time a majority of voters opposed the European Union constitutional treaty...Jacques Delors, former president of the European Commission, warned of a “political cataclysm” if France voted No to the constitution in a national referendum on May 29...The poll of 802 people, conducted earlier this week, showed that 51 per cent of respondents would vote No if the referendum were held on Sunday. Support for the Yes campaign slumped 14 points from the previous month to 49 per cent, following a tumultuous spell in French politics. Over the past few weeks, the unemployment rate has climbed above 10 per cent, the trade unions have staged mass protests against the government's reforms, and the finance minister has been forced to quit over a housing scandal.

It is another reminder of why our system works. A balance between local power and rights, and federal power and rights. To my mind, the EU is severly unbalanced towards the central/federal power. But then, that is how the French modelled their own government.