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In the end, divisive as it was, the French referendum has served a purpose: whatever Europe emerges from the turmoil will have been strengthened by an invigorating democratic debate. "We will be listening more to the people," said Pierre Beregovoy, France's Prime Minister. In Cognac, the "real people" might have told him long ago that the dream of a United States of Europe would have to bide its time, like a bracing brandy that takes decades to meld the flavors of many vineyards.