It is a remarkable piece of so-called democracy. Two and a half years ago debate raged throughout France as to whether or not to accept the European Constitution. the issue dominated the written press, there were television debates, the President answered questions live on TV and most importantly the web came into its own and “ordinary” individuals such as Etienne Chouard influenced thousands with his careful arguments posted on his site. Heavily influenced in particular by the web-debate, the result, as everyone knows, was the rejection of the Constitution. This time round not only is there no public debate, but even the French parliament passed the Treaty on the nod - the main debate was last night, almost unbelievably between 9.00 p.m. and 2.00 a.m. this morning. The vote was this afternoon. Hot-foot, the Senate will debate it this evening and vote tomorrow morning. People in Britain sometimes complain that British parliament is a mere tool of government, but at least there the Treaty is being debated over ten days.

It is extraordinary that politicians say they want the European people to feel involved, committed even - and then they pull a stroke like that.

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