French say "Non"

French Say No to EU treaty

The Netherlands has a similar vote Wednesday, and there is fear that
a.) The French "no" will make it more likely to be rejected in the Netherlands. AND
b.) A second defeat will kill it entirely.

I think that to compete in a global economy it is a good idea for Europe to present to the world as one bloc. But I suspect that the loss of national autonomy will continue to be a stumbling block until there are clear economic hardships from going it alone.

And as long as every nation must ratify the treaty before it goes into effect, I think it will be a long long time before the EU really happens. I think 25 nations is just too many to expect to be unanimous in anything.