FRANCE: Just 12 per cent of the French public believe the EU should scrap the idea of a constitution. However, they remain deeply divided on how to move ahead with the European project, according to an opinion poll.
A Eurobarometer survey published yesterday by the European Commission shows that 39 per cent of French people think the proposed EU constitution should be renegotiated. Only 9 per cent of respondents believe the same constitutional text should be put to the vote again in France but 35 per cent said the current EU constitution should be the basis of a new constitution.
In May 2005 the French public voted by 54 per cent against the constitution, which would have laid out a new institutional framework for the union. This was followed swiftly by rejection in the Netherlands, which has left the constitutional project in doubt.
Attempts at reviving it are being considered by the Austrian presidency. It is expected to present options on how to proceed at a summit of EU leaders in June. But few EU observers expect real progress before 2007 when France elects a new president.
Meanwhile, the Eurobarometer poll found that three in five French people said they feel both French and European. Two-thirds said EU nations possess "common values that distinguish them from the rest of the world". Democracy and respect for human rights, economy and geography were cited as the most popular elements of this identity.