The Socialist Party’s Divisions on European Union Policy and Its Preconditions
The Socialist Party’s Divisions on European Union Policy and Its Preconditions

Author(s): Szymon Stellmaszyk
Subject(s): Civil Society, Governance, International relations/trade, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment, EU-Legislation, Geopolitics
Published by: PISM Polski Instytut Spraw Międzynarodowych
Keywords: France; Socialist party; European Union policy; democracy; EU treaty; French referendum;
Summary/Abstract: The divisions in the French Socialist Party around the issue of the European Union are nothing new. The most famous split occurred in the wake of the 2005 decision to hold a national referendum between those who campaigned for the treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe and those who were against it. Months before the referendum, the Socialist Party consulted its members. The “Yes” vote won with 59%, but the “No”-bloc continued their campaign outside the party, opposing the Constitutional treaty, citing a lack of democratic accountability and the threat that it posed to the European social model.

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