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| Watching Brexit Fall Apart | Watching Brexit Fall Apart |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| PARIS — If French voters, unsettled by the revolt of the Yellow Vests, are tempted to use referendums to enhance the democratic process, they should look at the sad spectacle across the Channel: the British people trying to pick up the shards of their future after their House of Commons rejected the Brexit deal that Prime Minister Theresa May had spent 18 months negotiating with the European Union — on the basis of a referendum. | PARIS — If French voters, unsettled by the revolt of the Yellow Vests, are tempted to use referendums to enhance the democratic process, they should look at the sad spectacle across the Channel: the British people trying to pick up the shards of their future after their House of Commons rejected the Brexit deal that Prime Minister Theresa May had spent 18 months negotiating with the European Union — on the basis of a referendum. |
| It is hard to think of a more powerful deterrent. For three years, Continental Europe has watched with bewilderment, despair and exasperation as the world’s oldest democracy embarked on a path that no country has tried before: leaving the European Union. | It is hard to think of a more powerful deterrent. For three years, Continental Europe has watched with bewilderment, despair and exasperation as the world’s oldest democracy embarked on a path that no country has tried before: leaving the European Union. |
| We watched a young, ambitious British prime minister, David Cameron, gamble that the June 23, 2016, referendum would strengthen Britain’s position within the union because the vote would be to remain. We watched him fail, resign and disappear. After a referendum campaign marred by fake news, lies, false promises and attacks against immigrants, we watched Westminster’s lively political culture plunge into chaos. | We watched a young, ambitious British prime minister, David Cameron, gamble that the June 23, 2016, referendum would strengthen Britain’s position within the union because the vote would be to remain. We watched him fail, resign and disappear. After a referendum campaign marred by fake news, lies, false promises and attacks against immigrants, we watched Westminster’s lively political culture plunge into chaos. |
| We watched a former empire, winner of two world wars, aspire to become Singapore upon Thames. We watched Brexit ministers under Mrs. May, confused by incoherent policies and a nightmarish negotiation, throw in one towel after another. And we are now observing, dumbfounded, the growing possibility of a second referendum, promoted by smart but desperate people, convinced that it will undo the first one, which approved Brexit by 51.9 percent. | We watched a former empire, winner of two world wars, aspire to become Singapore upon Thames. We watched Brexit ministers under Mrs. May, confused by incoherent policies and a nightmarish negotiation, throw in one towel after another. And we are now observing, dumbfounded, the growing possibility of a second referendum, promoted by smart but desperate people, convinced that it will undo the first one, which approved Brexit by 51.9 percent. |
| From the Continent rises a clamor of “Oh, no, not another one!” | From the Continent rises a clamor of “Oh, no, not another one!” |
| Ironically, the Brexit referendum was won on the promise to “take back control.” Sometimes we wondered whether the British had lost not only control but also their minds. We came to dread conversations with our dearest friends from England, now so obsessed with Brexit that they would forget to mention the weather. As journalists, we felt sympathy for heartbroken British diplomats putting a brave face on a decision that they had to carry out, when deep down they knew they were heading to disaster. | Ironically, the Brexit referendum was won on the promise to “take back control.” Sometimes we wondered whether the British had lost not only control but also their minds. We came to dread conversations with our dearest friends from England, now so obsessed with Brexit that they would forget to mention the weather. As journalists, we felt sympathy for heartbroken British diplomats putting a brave face on a decision that they had to carry out, when deep down they knew they were heading to disaster. |
| But most of all, this process has taught us about the strength of the European Union in a way that we never suspected. | But most of all, this process has taught us about the strength of the European Union in a way that we never suspected. |
| There was Mrs. May’s surrealistic, elegant love letter to the union, “our closest friend,” to ask for divorce, on March 28, 2017. You don’t so easily put an end to 44 years of shared life. Activating Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to start the process of separation, the prime minister insisted that Europe should “remain strong and prosperous, capable of projecting its values, leading in the world.” | There was Mrs. May’s surrealistic, elegant love letter to the union, “our closest friend,” to ask for divorce, on March 28, 2017. You don’t so easily put an end to 44 years of shared life. Activating Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to start the process of separation, the prime minister insisted that Europe should “remain strong and prosperous, capable of projecting its values, leading in the world.” |
| “Perhaps now more than ever,” she wrote, “the world needs the liberal, democratic values of Europe.” So, one wondered, why on earth leave it? Indeed, Mrs. May herself was initially a “Remainer” but would end up exhausting her meager political capital fighting to deliver the opposite: Such was her fate, and such was the absurdity of Brexit. | “Perhaps now more than ever,” she wrote, “the world needs the liberal, democratic values of Europe.” So, one wondered, why on earth leave it? Indeed, Mrs. May herself was initially a “Remainer” but would end up exhausting her meager political capital fighting to deliver the opposite: Such was her fate, and such was the absurdity of Brexit. |
| To be fair, Britain’s relationship with the union was never an easy one. In the 1960s President Charles de Gaulle twice vetoed Britain’s integration, convinced that Britain would always try to impose its terms on a common market. Britain finally joined what was then the European Economic Community in 1973 and did shape its single market. Margaret Thatcher’s famous “I want my money back” shook Brussels and fed lingering suspicions that the British had joined the union only to slow it down. | |
| “The British always had one foot in the E.U. and one foot out — now with Brexit they want the opposite,” a French legislator, Jean-Louis Bourlanges, joked. But Britain had strong allies among the other member states. Its first-class diplomatic personnel brought welcome expertise to Brussels. Even the French understood that the British were a powerful addition to this extraordinary supranational entity. | “The British always had one foot in the E.U. and one foot out — now with Brexit they want the opposite,” a French legislator, Jean-Louis Bourlanges, joked. But Britain had strong allies among the other member states. Its first-class diplomatic personnel brought welcome expertise to Brussels. Even the French understood that the British were a powerful addition to this extraordinary supranational entity. |
| Hence the idea, sold by the Brexiteers to their voters, that negotiating new terms with the Continent would be easy because the union had so much to lose in this divorce. It was even expected that other countries would follow Britain’s example. “Who’s next?” was the only question that President Trump put to the European Council president, Donald Tusk, in a phone call in January 2017, I was told by Anthony Gardner, the American ambassador to the European Union at the time. | Hence the idea, sold by the Brexiteers to their voters, that negotiating new terms with the Continent would be easy because the union had so much to lose in this divorce. It was even expected that other countries would follow Britain’s example. “Who’s next?” was the only question that President Trump put to the European Council president, Donald Tusk, in a phone call in January 2017, I was told by Anthony Gardner, the American ambassador to the European Union at the time. |
| It didn’t turn out that way. | It didn’t turn out that way. |
| The European Commission designated an affable Frenchman, Michel Barnier, as its chief negotiator and gave him a team of 60, drawn from 19 nationalities. A former center-right member of Parliament, government minister and union commissioner, Mr. Barnier viewed Brexit as “a lose-lose case” and was determined that the union would lose as little as possible. He understood early that unity would be crucial and repeatedly toured the remaining 27 member countries to brief their leaders. | The European Commission designated an affable Frenchman, Michel Barnier, as its chief negotiator and gave him a team of 60, drawn from 19 nationalities. A former center-right member of Parliament, government minister and union commissioner, Mr. Barnier viewed Brexit as “a lose-lose case” and was determined that the union would lose as little as possible. He understood early that unity would be crucial and repeatedly toured the remaining 27 member countries to brief their leaders. |
| Doing so, Mr. Barnier observed “a new feeling of gravity” among European leaders, spurred by the realization that faced with Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, Europe must not be weakened by Brexit. So instead of intra-European infighting and rivalry, London’s negotiators met a solid wall of unity and sense of purpose. The European Union became so relevant that exiting it is not an issue anymore, even among the most Euroskeptic governments. | Doing so, Mr. Barnier observed “a new feeling of gravity” among European leaders, spurred by the realization that faced with Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, Europe must not be weakened by Brexit. So instead of intra-European infighting and rivalry, London’s negotiators met a solid wall of unity and sense of purpose. The European Union became so relevant that exiting it is not an issue anymore, even among the most Euroskeptic governments. |
| Some are more patient than others. Last month, President Dalia Grybauskaite of Lithuania tweeted her Christmas wish for Britain: “Finally decide what you really want and Santa will deliver.” On Twitter, Germany’s economy minister, Peter Altmaier, professed admiration for “the epic struggle of the British people,” and more than 20 German politicians and celebrities wrote Britons an emotional letter saying they “would always have friends in Germany and Europe.” Others secretly pray for Britain to finally leave, solve its domestic problems and come back in a decade or two. | Some are more patient than others. Last month, President Dalia Grybauskaite of Lithuania tweeted her Christmas wish for Britain: “Finally decide what you really want and Santa will deliver.” On Twitter, Germany’s economy minister, Peter Altmaier, professed admiration for “the epic struggle of the British people,” and more than 20 German politicians and celebrities wrote Britons an emotional letter saying they “would always have friends in Germany and Europe.” Others secretly pray for Britain to finally leave, solve its domestic problems and come back in a decade or two. |
| The ball is in Britain’s court, facing a March 29 date to exit with or without a deal. E.U. governments are accelerating preparations to face a no-deal catastrophe. | The ball is in Britain’s court, facing a March 29 date to exit with or without a deal. E.U. governments are accelerating preparations to face a no-deal catastrophe. |
| There was another, less glorious lesson from the Brexit saga. The uprising that brought it in 2016 was not, it turns out, isolated. | There was another, less glorious lesson from the Brexit saga. The uprising that brought it in 2016 was not, it turns out, isolated. |
| “We made the mistake of thinking that Brexit was a purely British problem,” said an adviser to President Emmanuel Macron of France. “It was not. It is a European problem, and the Yellow Vests are part of it.” | “We made the mistake of thinking that Brexit was a purely British problem,” said an adviser to President Emmanuel Macron of France. “It was not. It is a European problem, and the Yellow Vests are part of it.” |
| From west to east and east to west, the revolt against elites and inequalities has spread. The associated lies, the demagogy, the divisions that are familiar to American voters are now common in Europe. France, which we assumed had been spared thanks to Mr. Macron’s election in 2017, now faces a somber ritual of weekly violent protests. | From west to east and east to west, the revolt against elites and inequalities has spread. The associated lies, the demagogy, the divisions that are familiar to American voters are now common in Europe. France, which we assumed had been spared thanks to Mr. Macron’s election in 2017, now faces a somber ritual of weekly violent protests. |
| Glued to the BBC over the past few days, some of us, awed by such riveting political theater, could not help envying at least the style with which the British have handled their own bout of madness. | Glued to the BBC over the past few days, some of us, awed by such riveting political theater, could not help envying at least the style with which the British have handled their own bout of madness. |
| Sylvie Kauffmann is the editorial director and a former editor in chief of Le Monde and a contributing opinion writer. | Sylvie Kauffmann is the editorial director and a former editor in chief of Le Monde and a contributing opinion writer. |
| Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. | Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. |