French ardour for Irish vote on Lisbon waning

FRANCE:THERE ARE signs that France and Europe, like rejected suitors, are learning to live with Ireland's reluctance to ratify the Lisbon Treaty.

In recent days François Bayrou, the centrist leader who is considered France's most pro-European politician, has said that although he voted to ratify Lisbon in the French parliament, "I was never enthusiastic about the treaty" because it was too long and complicated to be understood.

"I don't find the body and soul of the Europe I love in it," Mr Bayrou said at a dinner debate. "It's the death of inspiration. I hope we will find a way to make the institutional improvements, but I'm not weeping over Lisbon."

When Taoiseach Brian Cowen lunched with President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday, Lisbon was overshadowed by the Irish Government's bank guarantee scheme and the financial crisis.

Asked whether Mr Sarkozy was happy to wait until December for a decision on a second Lisbon referendum, Mr Cowen noted that he will give a progress report at the October 15-16th summit, and that the Oireachtas subcommittee on European affairs is assessing the Millward Brown IMS survey on attitudes to the treaty. "President Sarkozy is making his office and his own person available to assist us in this effort," he said. "We take one European Council meeting at a time." A communiqué handed out by the Élysée conveyed a slightly greater sense of urgency: "The president of the republic reminded [Mr Cowen] that the process of ratification of the Lisbon Treaty had to continue, and that the objective of the French presidency was to reach an agreement of 27 at the December European Council."