Media Release published in French on 4 May 2018
On May 1, 2018, ACDN sent emails to France’s 577 MPs and 348 senators inviting them to sign a Bill to organise a referendum on the following question:
"Do you want France to participate in abolishing nuclear weapons and to engage with all the states concerned in negotiations aimed at establishing, ratifying and implementing a treaty to ban and completely eliminate nuclear and radioactive weapons, under mutual and international control that is strict and effective?"
ON 2-3 May, IFOP (main polling organisation) conducted a survey on this question via online self-administrated questionnaires, polling a sample of 1007 persons representative of the French population aged 18 or more.
To this question, 85 % of those polled said YES.
A second question was put. According to France’s Constitution, a "shared initiative" referendum (parliament and citizens) requires a bill signed by 20% of the parliamentarians (185 MPs or senators out of 925) and then supported by 10% of registered voters. In view of this, the question put in the poll was:
« If 20 % of parliamentarians sign it, do you think you would support this bill so that the referendum can take place?"
To this second autre question, 82 % of those polled said YES (31% said certainly, 51 % probably), 15 % NO, probably not and 3% NO, certainly not.
ACDN, ever since its foundation in 1996, has worked for the abolition of nuclear weapons and called for a referendum about them. In October 2015, an IFOP poll commissioned by ACDN on two very similar questions received 74% YES responses on both questions. Thus the proportion of French citizens in favour of the abolition of nuclear and radioactive weapons and of consultation by referendum has now increased - going from nearly three out of four French people to over eight out of ten.
Here’s another remarkable fact: this desire for disarmament transcends all political boundaries, notable the left/right divide. Matching them against the choices that respendents made in the first round of the 2017 presidential elections, we find that -
92% of those who voted Hamon said YES on the first question, as did
89% of those who voted Melenchon,
89% of those who voted Macron,
87% of those who voted Fillon,
86% of those who voted Dupont-Aignan and
81% of those who voted Le Pen.
The respondents’ support on the referendum bill have a similar profile, rising from 79% (supporters of Marine LE PEN) to 87% (supporters of Emmanuel MACRON).
All we need now is the 185 parliamentary signatures on the referendum bill - and then the French people can finally say what they think about these extermination weapons for extermination and crimes against humanity, and open the path to eliminating them from the the face of the earth.
We invite all French citizens to contact the MPs and senators in their electorate asking them to sign up without delay to the referendum bill that they have received.
Long live the Republic, long live the French people, long live humankind, long live life!
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THE POLL
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CAMPAIGN DOCUMENTS
to print or ask for at contact@acdn.net
The Bill
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We invite all citizens and personalities of the world to support the French national referendum campaign:
The undersigned
First name:
NAME:
Position:
Country:
E-mail:
supports the request of a French referendum on this question:
« Do you want France to participate in abolishing nuclear and radioactive weapons and to engage with all the states concerned in negotiations aimed at establishing, ratifying and implementing a treaty to ban and completely eliminate nuclear and radioactive weapons, under mutual and international control that is strict and effective?"
Please send your support to contact@acdn.net
Thanks in advance.
ACDN
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