French say "no" to EU Constitution
Edited by Shen Yang


▲A young supporter of the far-right National Front Party looks on at the party's headquarters after French voters rejected the European Union constitution in Saint Cloud, May 29. The slogan reads: "Turkey in Europe, Constitution" "I vote no. I keep France".

The French referendum on May 29 overwhelmingly rejected the European Union (EU) Constitution, triggering a crisis within the EU on the ratification process of the charter.

The French Interior Ministry announced on Sunday night that the French "no" vote stood at 55.96 percent.

This is the first time that a major founding member of the EU has directly opposed the bloc's major stride in the European integration process.

In an address from the Elysee after the results revealed, French President Jacques Chirac said the process of ratifying the treaty would continue in other EU countries.

Chirac said he had taken note of the "sovereign decision" taken by voters, hinting a forthcoming government reshuffle.

The President also ensured the French people of France's position in the European Union despite the victory of the "no" vote.

But he acknowledged "the decision of France inevitably creates a difficult context for defending our interests in Europe."

The French "no" vote to the EU constitutional treaty will give a blow to Chirac's authority.

The right-wing French newspaper Le Figaro said in its Saturday edition that a victory of the "no" camp would make Chirac's fall inevitable and his third run for 2007 presidential election much more difficult.

As a French "no" gave a big blow to the ratification process of the EU Constitution, the EU headquarters reacted strongly to the French "no".

"We regret this choice, coming as it does from a Member State that has been for the last 50 years one of the essential motors of the building of our common future," said a joint declaration issued by European Parliament President Josep Borrell Fontelles, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, holder of current EU presidency and President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso.

Telling a joint press conference at the European Commission, the EU's executive, Juncker repeated his demand that the ratification of the treaty continue in other member states.

European Parliament Socialist Group leader Martin Schulz made a similar demand, saying that "the battle goes on."

All 25 EU members must ratify the text for it to take effect as planned by Nov. 1, 2006. Nine already have done so: Austria, Hungary, Italy, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

The French "no" would directly affect those EU member states that planned a popular vote, like The Netherlands, Britain, Poland, Denmark and Ireland.

An EU summit due on June 16-17 is expected to handle the crisis triggered by the French "no".

Vocabulary
referendum 公民投票
ratification 批准
bloc 政治组织
reshuffle 改组

 

 

World in Pictures
图话世界
Photo source: ImagineChina

	Cow-shaped bench 奶牛肚里好休息 A Church Day visitor rests on a cow-shaped bench, May 26, in Hanover, where she participates in the 30th Church Day, organized by the German Protestants, and scheduled from May 25 to 29.
	Glass flowers 玻璃雕花栩栩如生 American sculptor Dale Chihuly's colored glass flowers hang from the roof of the temperate house at Kew Gardens in London on May 26.
	24 ladies in a car 一小车装24名女子 24 Ukrainian ladies climb into a Russian made Oka-Lady car during SIA 2005, the traditional International Motor exhibition in Kiev May 25. The young ladies set a new world record of the carload for the A-class.
	Living in a nest 行为艺术家在鸟巢生活7天 Belgian performance artist Benjamin Verdonck hangs from a nest he has built on the side of the Rotunda building in Birmingham, May 25. Verdonck will stay in the nest for seven days as part of the Fierce Art Festival.
	Kinetic Sculpture Race 木偶脚踏车锦标赛举行 A giant human-powered "cat" passed by a huge "lizard" during the Great Arcata to Ferndale World Championship Kinetic Sculpture Race on May 28, in California. Dozens of artistic pedal-powered machines traversed 42 miles of roads, dunes, Humboldt Bay, city streets and highways, the Eel River, and mud during the three-day event.

 

 

World in Words
话外音
Collected & translated by Beverly

"I now listen in bed instead of reading. It's more relaxing, and I don't have to bother my wife with the light. "
"现在, 我躺在床上听书而不是看书了. 这样让我觉得更轻松, 而且也不用开灯打扰我妻子休息了. "
The popularity of audio books is redefining the notion of reading, which for centuries has been centered on the written word.
--有声书籍越来越流行, 因此阅读这一概念也被重新定义. 而在过去的几个世纪里, 阅读一直是以文字为主.

"It's really for geeks. They can already touch-type without looking. They feel a little bit superior. The keyboard is a statement."
"这是为电脑高手设计的. 他们完全可以盲打. 他们感觉自己比别人厉害, 而这种键盘就是他们能力的体现. "
Said Daniel Guermeur, the creator of a new product, Das Keyboard, which a regular 104-key keyboard - except that nothing is printed on the keys.
--丹尼尔·盖尔莫设计出一种新型键盘, Das键盘. 这种键盘和普通键盘一样有104个键, 不同之处就在于按键上什么字都没有.

"Even in tasks where they do well, women seem to shy away from competition, whereas men seem to enjoy it too much."
"即使对于非常胜任的工作, 女性也不太喜欢参与竞争, 但是男性却过分享受竞争的感觉. "
Professor Niederle of Stanford was convinced that the gender gap wasn't due mainly to women's insecurities about their abilities, but to different appetites for competition.
--斯坦福大学的尼德勒教授认为性别之间的差距并不是因为女性对自己的能力没有信心, 而是因为男女的竞争欲不同.

"You know, some things you have to question; other things you have to not question. You have to just put your head down and work. "
"你知道, 有些事情你可以问; 有些事情你不必问. 你只管埋头苦干就行了. "
Said Andre Agassi in an interview after he was beaten by the Finnish player Nieminen at French Open due to a backache.
--因背伤复发, 阿加西在法网公开赛男子单打首轮较量中被芬兰选手涅米宁淘汰出局. 在随后的采访中他这样说道.