Those results are very interesting indeed. It's no surprise that 'yes' won in Alsace... but what happened in Bretagne? That seems like it should have been a guaranteed 'no', given that they are the most conservative region in France (they're the ones that fought
for the King during the revolution).
Bandit LOAF said:
I'd like to see someone with more knowledge of the subject -- which is to say, Quarto if he gets a chance -- explain how the EU came about so quickly. In the case of France, it has always seemed to be an anathema to anything I've ever experienced of their culture or history...
Just as I was nearing an end to my reply, my computer crashed, so I'm afraid you're going to get the short version... which is probably for the best. Much as I like to lecture people about stuff like this, I'm not an expert on the EU, and all in all,
this news article explains how and why this process happened far better than I ever could.
Just a few more details that, IMO, are needed to fully understand what happened - the EU is very much a consequence of the situation after WWII. Germany was basically in the position of a criminal fresh out of jail, looking for a way to rehabilitate themselves in the international community. France, on the other hand, had lost everything - since the start of the 20th century, they had watched themselves go from super-power to a third-rate regional power. Sure, they had a permanent seat in the UN security council and all that, but it wasn't much of a consolation after the defeat of WWII (...and WWI, and the war of 1870 - they had lost three wars to Germany in a row), and after the loss of their global empire. So, it was almost natural that France and Germany would get together.
I also believe that the reason why the French government (probably not the people - IIRC, it wasn't until the 1990s that the French people were asked about anything EU-related in a referendum) was so eager and willing to develop this alliance further (and invite other countries into it) was because they thought they weren't building a European Union, but rather a sort of mega-France. Heck, the original six member states, taken together, bear an uncanny resemblence to Charlemagne's empire - and there was a lot of Charlemagne references back in those early years.