Watching the Greek Debt Crisis From France

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/14/world/europe/watching-the-greek-debt-crisis-from-france.html

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TOUCY, France — As the Greek crisis unfolded last week, people here in northern Burgundy paused during their morning routines to think about what it might mean to them.

“I am worried, of course, but it is incomprehensible to me,” said Jean-François Faure, owner of the Librairie Jofac, a bookstore in the center of this small town. “It’s clear the Greeks have been wrung dry, but this has turned into a never-ending saga.”

A customer, Dominique Goudard, a 62-year-old writer, chimed in with warm praise for the abrupt decision by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece to call for a popular vote on an austerity plan.

“At last, in this world of scandal, we have someone who takes risks,” he said. “At last, there is someone who is talking about a real democracy. Say yes, say no, but say what you think.”

As it turned out, the resounding “no” dealt by Greek voters to their creditors’ latest offer did little to resolve the crisis and if anything, upped the stakes in the diplomatic game of chicken between Greece and its European partners that culminated in a deal that was announced Monday morning.

Yet several people here, each with their own view on what all agreed was Europe’s moment of truth, applauded the idea of including voters in the debate. Their voices echoed a widely held frustration with what some call the “democratic deficit” at the heart of the European Union.

France, struggling to hold its own with Germany in Europe’s key partnership, has played the role of intermediary, seeking what the newspaper Le Monde called an “impossible compromise” to prevent Greece’s exit from the euro. French leaders pressed Greece to make concessions to appease its increasingly hostile partners while also pushing Germany to soften its stand on debt relief.

That doesn’t mean that people here don’t worry about having to foot the bill for Greece. “It’s tough for them, but times are hard here in France, too,” said Michel Maréchal, a retired florist.

President François Hollande’s quest for the middle ground reflected a sharp division in French public opinion on Greece’s future in the eurozone. Unlike in Germany, where most people support a “Grexit,” polls in France have shown a majority in favor of more negotiations in search of solutions other than greater doses of austerity. But when asked what those potential solutions might be, people here could only shrug.

“We can’t presume to know,” said Ida Rebold, who was in line to buy bread in the nearby village of Villiers-St.-Benoît. “What can we do? Of course, we are concerned, but all we can do is follow the music, listen and wait.”

Ten years ago, Europeans were asked their opinion on a proposal for a new European Union constitution: The French voted no, as did the Dutch. The vote was eventually superseded in 2009 by the Treaty of Lisbon, a slightly revised version, which was approved by national parliaments in France and other countries. Only Ireland put the treaty to a popular vote, which was held twice to get adopted.

Meanwhile, the common currency remained outside any national debate in Europe even after its flaws were exposed with the first bailout for Greece in 2010. Since then, the future of the currency — and of the European Union itself — has been decided at a succession of Brussels summit meetings, typically held behind closed doors, to the great mystification and frustration of average citizens who were left “to follow the music.”

“The governments never wanted to admit that they had an interest in convincing their people rather than forcing them,” Sylvie Goulard, a French member of the European Parliament, wrote in a recent article in Le Monde.

“Despite the damage to public opinion, intergovernmental tinkering came to be seen as ‘normal’ governance, and unilateral referendums came to be seen as a model of democracy.”

Referendums may not be the best way to resolve complex political and financial issues, but the democratic deficit only worsens when voters feel shut out of the debate.