Dear Comrades,
I am writing to you on behalf of Project K <www.projet-k.org>.
As you are no doubt aware, the opinion polls in France are currently showing that a substantial majority of the French electorate is planning to vote 'No' in the referendum on the EU 'constitution' on 29 May. Even more importantly, this majority against the referendum has a strongly left-wing and 'social' colouration, in the context of an upsurge of strikes and demonstrations in France and despite the support for the 'Yes' vote by the majority of the Socialist Party.
One of the few arguments remaining for the supporters of the 'Yes' vote is that voting 'No' is some kind of an act of political isolation from the rest of the European Left, and that it can be thus reduced to a type of French nationalism, rather than the expression of rebellion against the neoliberal EU that it really represents. That is why we in Project K have taken the initiative of launching an international petition in solidarity with the left-wing 'No' vote, to try to counter this form of political blackmail. We hope to be able to publish it eventually in the French national press. We are asking you if you can try to gather signatures for it from leading trade unionists and politicians, representative organisations and associations, prominent left-wing intellectuals, artists etc in any European countries. Please get back to us as soon as possible on this.
Thanks for your solidarity
Sebastian Budgen for Project K
No to the proposed European constitution! Solidarity with the French left's campaign to vote "No"!
The proposed European constitution, adopted by EU member states on 18 June 2004 and currently being subjected to various types of ratification in countries across the EU, is a danger to democracy. It is an attempt to impose a socially destructive and economically neo-liberal order on a European scale.
If the constitution is adopted, life for those living in the EU will be increasingly subjected to the laws of the free market and governed by institutions which defy any form of popular control. Europe's international role will be subordinated to NATO and to militarist ambitions.
Various political, social, associational and cultural forces across Europe are opposing this project. In some countries a referendum will allow the electorate to express itself directly on the matter. In France, in particular, the referendum of 29 May is a major political battle for the forces of the left, in all their diversity, who have joined together to campaign for a "No" vote against the proposed constitution.
Their battle is also our own. This text will make attacks on living conditions easier. Its defeat is a necessary condition for halting the reactionary drift in mainstream politics and opening up the possibility of a future founded on social rights, democracy and peace. The victory of the "No" vote in France would be a powerful boost to all those who are struggling for these values to win, in Europe and throughout the world.
Initiated by Project K <http://www.projet-k.org>