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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 December 2023
Although France was one of the founding members of the European Economic Community, the potential benefits of membership of an integrated European economy divided opinion from the outset. On two occasions, in 1992 and 2005, the French public was consulted directly in a referendum on proposals to deepen integration through treaty changes. The first referendum was held on 20 September 1992 on the question of completing the single market and preparing for monetary union (EMU) under the Treaty of Maastricht. On that occasion, on a large turnout of 69.7 per cent, a narrow majority (51 per cent) voted in favour. The second referendum, on the question of ratification of a constitution for the European Union (EU), was held on 29 May 2005. On a similarly large turnout of 69.4 per cent, 54.7 per cent voted against. All other treaties starting with the Treaty of Paris setting up the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) signed on 18 April 1951 were approved by a majority in Parliament.
Attempts by historians to separate the effects of European integration from all the other factors influencing the performance of the economies of member states since 1951, and to quantify them, have proved to be very difficult indeed. While it is not possible in a short chapter to analyse the full range of issues that membership of the EEC/EU has involved for the French economy, the aim of this chapter is to summarize some of the most significant ones. These are: the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC); the European Economic Community (EEC) and its com-mon agricultural policy (CAP); the European Single Market; and the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).
THE EUROPEAN COAL AND STEEL COMMUNITY
The proposal in May 1950 to place the coal and steel industries of France and the Federal Republic of Germany under the supervision and control of a common High Authority was a French initiative designed to achieve two main objectives. The first was to maintain the consensus within France that the Monnet Plan had achieved, while the second was to build a positive relationship with the new Federal Republic of Germany.
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