Question for those on my friends list who are now or have recently been in France.

[randomness]

So, the debate on the EU constitution is reaching its climax in France. The French electorate votes on Sunday, and according to news reports it's become a pretty divisive debate, with families and workplaces split by the issue.

My question for my friends currently in, or recently returned from France is this: was this political debate obvious, or are the media exaggerating? (Or both?) What did you see and hear?

Comments

[denyse.livejournal.com]

Beats me, it was all in French. :) I saw some stuff on the news.

[hca.livejournal.com]

Very obvious. Posters everywhere - VOTE NO ON THE REFERENDUM! A serious demonstration with all kinds of police presence right outside my hotel window, shouting "It's time for action! It's time for a change!"

[monkeygod.livejournal.com]

its everywhere ! i flee the madness tomorrow to the safety of the british shores - cause, y'know, they've always been pro-europe :P

seriously though - media blitz on most of the news shows (that i flip through), ads here and there, and when i scooted out of the touristy areas i saw some 'non' info-mobs handing out pamphlets ... as of tonight, BBC is reporting polls still favor the 'non' crowd at 55%

from the natives

[dr-mewwi.livejournal.com]

From my friends here who are French (one working here for 2 years, the other visiting her from France): apparently the populace is pretty well equally divided on this, it's largely an economic issue. The vote is likely to be close, but unlikely to accept the constitution. It doesn't sound like a behind-the-scenes debate at all...

(If you have other specific q's, I'm happy to ask them more.)

Re: from the natives

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Mostly, I was wondering what things were actually like in France in the days before the referendum, as opposed to the actual issues, which have been covered pretty throughly. Some of the reporting seems a bit overblown. Reading some stories you get the impression that people are having fistfights on the streets over it.

Which, from what I'm hearing from previous posters, isn't exactly true. But apparently there have been demonstrations and arguments, and those have been noticable even to the casual observer.

[rdansky.livejournal.com]

Posters. Lots and lots of posters. Nobody I worked with talked about it at all.

[apintrix.livejournal.com]

We saw many posters, news articles, and a TV point-counterpoint bit, but I didn't hear conversations about it (with my limited French.)

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Say, are you two back? Kim said you'd be back today and we left messages, but I'm not sure if she just meant she was just changing planes and leaving again.

P.S.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

It'd be cool to connect, if you are back.