Position on referendum from strong yes to strong no :
# François Bayrou (UDF) # Nicolas Sarkozy (UMP) (Chirac-like with regards to Europe. Mostly sees Europe as a way to get benefits for some supporters, and to shift blame) # Dominique Voynet (Verts) (party divided, but everybody respected the party line after the party vote, unlike PS) # Ségolène Royal (PS) (party divided, campaigned for Yes) # Olivier Besancenot (Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire)(nominally internationalist; doesn't want a liberal Europe) # Arlette Laguiller (Lutte Ouvrière)(same as above) # Marie-George Buffet (PCF)(same as above, but the PC has also been more "nationalist" since the 80s) # Frédéric Nihous (Chasse, pêche, nature, traditions) (ruralist, and feels EU is responsible for disparitions of public service in countryside, and worse, for shorter hunting periods) # Gérard Schivardi (soutenu par le Parti des Travailleurs) (in order to get its 500 signatures, has a platform defending "mayors" and "departments" against more recent divisions such as intercommunality and... Europe) # Philippe de Villiers (Mouvement pour la France) # Jean-Marie Le Pen (Front national) Un roi sans divertissement est un homme plein de misères
In terms of personal opinion, I'd rank Sarkozy below Royal. Sarkozy is not pro-European, and he hardly campaigned for the oui last year, even though it was his party in power. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
