AMID growing a political revolt in France against the timetable for European Monetary Union, the parliamentary speaker, Mr Philippe Seguin, who opposed the Maastricht Treaty, called yesterday for a political initiative by France and Germany to create a more human face for Europe.
The populist Mr Seguin, who is positioning himself as a potential successor to Mr Alain Juppe as prime minister, argued that postponing monetary union would not be a disaster. "Is it not time to put everything back on the table?" he demanded at a conference on monetary union at Aachen in Germany.
But as doubts about the Maastricht criteria spread among politicians from all parties, President Jacques Chirac and his prime minister tried to keep the lid on dissent. In the western town of Niort during a provincial tour, Mr Chirac was faced with a demonstration by 300 people protesting against the reform of the social security system, part of the government's plans to cut public deficits in line with the convergence criteria. But Mr Chirac insisted that sticking to the Maastricht deadline of 1997 was the only solution for France.
He was backing Mr Juppe who reacted to the revolt on Thursday by saying tersely that the timetable would be respected. "Not only have we not discussed it, but we will not be discussing it," he said. "The line is fixed."
However, the speech by the influential Mr Seguin will fan the flames of Euroscepticism in France as the country experiences a crisis in consumer confidence. Mr Seguin defended himself against charges that he is anti European by saying that he wanted to see another kind of Europe. "For the moment, whether one likes it or not, all the pretty speeches about growth and prosperity are taking longer to come across, he said. "Europe is becoming more and more synonymous with crisis and unemployment in the people's eyes."
The present debate in France was triggered by the strongly pro European former president, Mr Valery Giscard d'Estaing, when he suggested on Wednesday that a more flexible approach the convergence criteria would prevent EU economies from being plunged into recession. His remarks were backed by his supporters in the government, including the Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Herve de Charette.
More surprisingly, his doubts about the timetable were echoed the following day by the former president of the European Commission, the Socialist Mr Jacques Delors. It would be "very difficult to achieve economic and monetary union within the deadline," he to a provincial newspaper.