Dissent over the European Constitutional Treaty within the French Socialist Party: Between Response to Anti-Globalizatio
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Dissent over the European Constitutional Treaty within the French Socialist Party: Between Response to Anti-Globalization Protest and Intra-Party Tactics Amandine Crespy Universite´ libre de Bruxelles/Cevipol, avenue Jeanne 44 — CP 124, Bruxelles 1050, Belgium. E-mail: [email protected]
More than 2 years after the failed French referendum on the European constitutional treaty (ECT), this paper puts contention over Europe within the French left in perspective both in the context of the coming of age of anti-globalization (or global justice) ideas as well as the 2007 Presidential election. On a theoretical level, the analysis relies on a combination of the organizational approach of political parties on the one hand and concepts developed in sociology of collective action (or social movements) on the other. It is argued that, while the cognitive context related to anti-globalization mobilization has strongly affected the PS, the institutional and intra-party elements of the political opportunity structure seem to have determined interactions between actors and eventually the tactical manoeuvring of some PS personalities to a wider extent. French Politics (2008) 6, 23–44. doi:10.1057/palgrave.fp.8200136 Keywords: European constitutional treaty; French socialist party; anti-globalization movement; mobilization; political opportunity structure; interactions
Introduction On 29 May 2005, 54.7% of the French electorate voted against the ratification of the European constitutional treaty (ECT). This clear-cut outcome triggered a severe crisis of the constitutional process in Europe. In the aftermath of the referendum, numerous causes have been put forward by scholars to explain this sudden rejection of European integration by the French people: for instance, the willingness to sanction the President and the government, economic and social fears, tactical manoeuvring from different actors, etc. More than 2 years after this event, it does make sense to explore the more profound causes of the French ‘non’, while analysing the mobilizing actors of the left, including not only political parties but also some unions and civil society organizations. This paper will therefore seek to find out to what extent criticism towards the European Union (EU) by anti-globalization and left-radical actors determined
Amandine Crespy Response to Anti-Globalization Protest and Intra-Party Tactics
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the involvement of some figures of the Socialist Party (PS) against the treaty. Various reasons justify focusing on the PS and its environment on the left of the political spectrum. While some authors have emphasized the role played by extremist parties and their electorates in determining the referendum’s outcome (Perrineau, 2006; Ivaldi, 2006), this trend seems to be a general feature among West European party systems. The peculiarity of the French referendum consists rather in the spectacular shift of the socialist electorate resulting from a significant part of the PS campaigning for the ‘non’.1 Two theoretical approaches are usually used to e
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