Steven Erlanger, one of the New York Times’ best foreign affairs writers, filed a delightful report June 30 from a French village in Provence, Collobrieres (population 1600), which has reintroduced the French franc, alongside the euro, in order to boost business. The mayor is quoted as saying, “We lost something with the franc; we lost an identity. We moved very quickly into Europe, maybe too quickly.”
Erlanger comments: "Along with mostly visa-free travel; the introduction of the Euro in 2002 was heralded as a great step in building a united Europe. But printed with abstract images of bridges and buildings and with no portraits of anyone, living or dead, euro bills are as faceless as the Eurocrats who run the new Europe.'
The writer uses the microcosm of the village to portray a small group of Europeans, who, like many others, feel out of touch with the European Union's institutions in Brussels and ignorant of EU initiatives. A number of villagers sympathize with the Irish for voting No to the Lisbon Treaty, reforming the Union's institutions, in a June 12 referendum. Their attitudes suggest that many EU citizens would have voted against the treaty if given a chance – Ireland is the only one of the 27 member countries to submit the treaty to a popular vote.
‘A French Village Revives the Franc, Hopes it Will Return the Favor‘ The New York Times, June 30, 2008
