Do you approve of the bill submitted to the French people by the President of the Republic authorizing the ratification of the Treaty on the European Union
A referendum on the Maastricht Treaty for the founding of the European Union was held in France on 20 September 1992.[1] It was approved by 51% of the voters. The result of the referendum, known as the "petit oui", along with the Danish "No" vote (50,7%) are considered to be signals of a transition of public opinion on European integration, away from the "permissive consensus" which had existed in most member states until then. From this point forward issues relating to European integration were subject to more intensive discussions across much of Europe, and later overt euroscepticism gained prominence.[2] Only France, Ireland and Denmark held referendums on the Maastricht Treaty ratification.
Those who opposed the ratification also included demographer Emmanuel Todd, on the basis of his work on European anthropology, arguing that differences between cultures would be too strong for a common currency to work.
The introduction of a common currency was the most debated aspect of the campaign. The three major right-wing figures campaigning against it, Philippe Séguin, Charles Pasqua and Philippe de Villiers, often named souverainists, were arguing that it would be a blow to French monetary independence, and political sovereignty as a whole. Séguin and de Villiers were coming from the top school for senior civil service, the ÉNA, just like left-wing dissenter Jean-Pierre Chevènement.
The sovereignist campaign gained an unexpected momentum, beating the 'yes' vote in some polls.
Philippe Séguin and President François Mitterrand famously faced off in a passionate but nevertheless respectful television debate, also remembered for the fact that Mitterrand was in the midst of a cancer treatment, something hidden from the public at the time.
↑Harmsen, Robert and Menno Spiering, eds. Euroscepticism: Party Politics, National Identity and European Integration. Amsterdam: Radopi B.V., 2004. p. 25.
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