Identity and Integration: Fractionalization and the Vote for the Eurozone in France

Abstract: This paper investigates the persistent effect of cultural identity on the political equilibrium in the European Union (`EU'). We do so by examining the relationship between the 1992 referendum on accession into the EU and cultural identity across French regions. We show that regions in which citizens self-identified with their local communities, as opposed to identifying with `France', were also much more likely to vote to join the EU. We use data from the 1789 Cahiers de Doleances as well as a survey of French language usage in 1864 to confirm that the regions voting for accession to the EU in 1992 had a deep historical tendency to affiliate with local institutions. We conclude that the regions that voted yes in 1992 likely did so because they saw the EU as an alternate source of support for their local interests. This undermines the argument of `functionalists' who see the EU as a catalyst for integration.