The sight of the deputies and senators of the French parliament travelling to Versailles to meet in “Congress” in order to amend the constitution so as to permit the ratification of a new European treaty has now become banal. It happens every time there is a new EU treaty, i.e. every three or four years now since the mid 1980s.
 
Each time, the vote goes through more or less “on the nod”: when the Congress met on Monday 4th February, to change the constitution for the Lisbon treaty, the vote was 540:181. Europe enjoys very broad support across large sections of the French political class. After all, ever since 9 May 1950, when Foreign Minister Robert Schuman (whom De Gaulle nicknamed “le boche”) called in the Clock Room of the Quai d’Orsay for the creation of what became the European Coal and Steel Community, the European construction has been largely a project driven by France.

A quote from the Dutch press agency NIS, 5 February 2008

An overwhelming majority in the [Dutch] Lower House would vote for a Democratic presidential candidate if they were allowed to vote in the US. […] Of the 150 MPs, 103 opted for a Democrat. Only 23 MPs considered a Republican more suitable for the presidency. This was even less than the number of MPs that said they had no opinion (24).

Jean d'Orléans, Duke of Vendôme, is the son of Henri, Count of Paris, one of the two major pretenders to the French throne, the other being Louis de Bourbon. Jean d'Orléans is therefore the Dauphin, the heir apparent from the House of Orléans.

You would never know, by skimming through Le Monde, and Le Figaro, let alone the international media, that the Treaty of Lisbon, short of some deus ex machina, will be ratified sometime between now and February 8. The French news is full of American politics.

This is another great decoy for Sarkozy. Besides his marriage (which is now old news), there is the great American election to distract the French from the scenario that will unfold in their National Assembly and Senate over the next two days.

Those of you who know French may be interested in this video from Nicolas Dupont-Aignan.

News that the British Government are going to send two pupils from every six form on a trip to Auschwitz just shows how skewed Britain’s education system has become. Coming fast on the heels of calls to take pride in British history out of the classroom this just shows the government at it's shallow worst.

Today, France’s deputies and senators meeting in Parliament in Versailles ratified by a vote of 560 to 181 the constitutional revision that precedes the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon. The result of this voting opens the way for the final ratification, Thursday, first at the National Assembly, then the Senate. Out of 893 present, 741 voted.

France is the 5th country after Hungary, Slovenia, Romania and Malta to ratify the Lisbon Treaty, in which they sign their sovereignty away.

Leading newspapers in Britain, France and Spain, as well as the BBC, are collaborating with the Belgian authorities to improve the international image of Belgium. Last month, Belgium’s interim government ordered the Belgian ambassadors abroad to spin the international media “to promote a positive image of Belgium.” The ambassadors were told to take “informal” and “discrete” initiatives which must “result in positive radio and television broadcasts or newspaper articles” in the foreign media. They should, however, avoid press conferences because these might have “the opposite effect.”

Apparently, the ambassadors in London, Paris and Madrid have already been able to arrange interviews of Belgian Interim Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt with The Financial Times and BBC World (Britain), Le Monde (France) and El Pais (Spain). The interviews with Le Monde and BBC World were taped recently; the interviews with El Pais and the FT are scheduled next week.

Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero recently boasted that the average Spaniard is now richer than the average Italian. Referring to new economic data [pdf]
published by Eurostat, the European statistics agency, Zapatero proclaimed that: “Spain has overtaken Italy. I told Romano [Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi] it would.” Zapatero went on to say that
Spain is now hot on the heels of France and Germany.

A quote from The Times, 1 February 2008

Patriotism should be avoided in school lessons because British history is “morally ambiguous”, a leading educational body recommends. […]

What vision does John McCain have for Europe? A good friend pointed me to this long piece in last month’s Foreign Affairs magazine.

The United States did not single-handedly win the Cold War; the transatlantic alliance did, in concert with partners around the world. The bonds we share with Europe in terms of history, values, and interests are unique. Unfortunately, they have frayed. As president, one of my top foreign policy priorities will be to revitalize the transatlantic partnership.
 
Americans should welcome the rise of a strong, confident European Union. The future of the transatlantic relationship lies in confronting the challenges of the twenty-first century worldwide: developing a common energy policy, creating a transatlantic common market tying our economies more closely together, and institutionalizing our cooperation on issues such as climate change, foreign assistance, and democracy promotion.