domingo, maio 01, 2005: Les bloggeurs want a Non in EU referendum

Les bloggeurs want a Non in EU referendum
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Conspiracy Theory One: the US administration wants Europe to adopt the constitutional treaty because it would kill off nation states and allow Washington to deal with a more pliable Brussels.

Conspiracy Theory Two: the Bush administration is secretly financing the No campaign in France because it wants to kill offEurope's ambitions to forge a common foreign policy and rival the US on the world stage.

These two seemingly contradictory theories have been circulating on French websites, peddled respectively by opponents and supporters of Europe's constitution.
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Although the majority of France's political, business, and media leaders support the treaty, the No camp has remained firmly ahead in the polls. Part of its popularity is precisely because it is anti-establishment.

But its support also owes much to the informational reach and mobilising power of the internet. While the Yes campaign has overwhelmed its opponents in the mainstream media, the No campaign is omnipresent on the web, the worldwide domain of dissidence.
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Although France woke up relatively late to the political implications of the internet, it has been catching up fast. There are an estimated 24m internet users in France, out of a population of 60m. The pro-constitution websites, run by the government and the mainstream parties, are formal and informational, while those run by theNo camp are chatty and polemical.

Pierre Giacometti, general director of the Ipsos polling organisation, says the constitution is a natural subject for web debate. “The internet has progressed a lot in France and the referendum is a subject that can be discussed to the end of eternity,” he says. “The No supporters have many things to say. And it is simpler to criticise. The Yes is not sexy. The No is more exciting.”
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FT.com / World - Les bloggeurs want a Non in EU referendum

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