 For a long time many believed that there would be an automatic adjustment and counted on a rapid increase in the wages of the emerging nations, on our advances in technology and the costs of transport preventing disruption. But this reassuring analysis is out of date. |
| We on the left who are pro-European and Internationalist wish to unite the peoples under a social model. |
| There are 20 million unemployed and what does the Constitution offer us in the Europe of 25, 27 and soon to be 30: policies of unrestricted competition to the detriment of production, wages, research and innovation. |
| This revision of the Constitution will not be perfect. But at least the Constitution will not be inflexible. It will be a step towards the Social Europe which we wish. |
| At the same time the Constitution sets in stone the Stability Pact and risks preventing member States from implementing a policy of growth. So we are not able to do things at the European or the national level. |
| Shopkeepers are not bankers. |
| France on its own cannot impose its point of view. But neither should it give up on its demands. With a clear vote for change France will be in a strong position. |
| The single currency should allow the European Union, and therefore France, to balance its monetary strength with the United States. It should help us adjust to the development of China. |
| But Maastricht was not the end of history. It was a first step towards a Europe of growth, of employment, a social Europe. That was the vision of Francois Mitterrand. We are far from that now. |
| I want to make an extremely strong appeal to those who abstained. Vote. It takes five minutes and then it's for five years. |
| This assumes an upward revision of the European Budget, which is precisely what Jacques Chirac refuses to do. On the contrary, he has demanded a reduction. |
| The demographic weight of countries such as China and India exercise a massive pressure on our wages and salaries. They have accomplished massive technological advances and the revolution in information technology has reduced the costs of transport. |
| The U.S. withdrawal from the Kyoto protocol endangers the entire process. |
| I am a partisan and artisan of Europe. But I draw the lessons of my experience in government. |
