Referendum à remporter

I vaguely recall from my small Latin that referendum is a part of speech known as a gerundive. This appears in a passive voice with an accusative (direct object) form to show obligation: that which must be done.
I believe this particular word has as its root referre, literally to carry back (hence refer in English). So a referendum is something that must be brought back; in politics for the people rather than for their delegates to decide upon. In French it would translate as qui doit être remporté, a verb which has extended meaning. Not only to win (Roger Federer devrait remporter Roland Garros -- Roger Federer should win the French Open tennis) but also to delay (les matchs de hier ont été remportés à cause de pluie -- rain delayed yesterday's matches).
It would appear that such Derridean sub-texts have been brought to the fore in Sunday's French no vote. The referendum was there to be won and the constitution delayed; opposition to the constitution has been carried back to its architects. And I as a europhile shed no tears for this ill conceived work of free-marketeering.
L'Europe sera socialiste ou elle ne sera pas, François Mitterrand told us, and even if you don't agree with this in its harsher practicalities, its central tenet is correct. What is the point of Europe if it does not serve to protect the people living there from exploitation in working practices, health and other human rights that are taken for granted in other parts of the world?
Europe exists to protect our education, our democracies, our livelihoods; to disseminate this idea across its member states and proselytise to the unconverted outside its membership.
If Europe cannot satisfy these underlying principles, what do we need it for? Financial liberalism dependent on centralised banks and markets already exists without a dedicated European bureaucratic layer. Is the constitution supposed to give us a sense of identity? The last time there was a cohesive image of Europe it was riding a bull out to sea. This vote was for terra firma. Forget how much money can be made out of this venture and remember who your true shareholders are. We want to reinvest Europe's dividends, not make a quick sale.