French left demand a referendum on EU’s permanent austerity treaty

Tens of thousands of protestors marched through Paris yesterday in opposition to French ratification of the EU Fiscal Compact and in demand of a referendum. President Hollande had famously declared upon his May election that ‘Europe is watching us, austerity can no longer be the watchword’ but next week he is set to secure parliamentary approval for the treaty - negotiated by his conservative predecessor Sarkozy and German Chancellor Merkel - which the ETUC has condemned as ‘leading to permanent austerity’
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9577534/Francois-Hollande-faces-protest-over-fiscal-pact.html#