FRANCE: The French president, Jacques Chirac, has launched the yes campaign in his country's referendum on the EU constitution with a two-hour, prime time television debate with 80 young people. Mr Chirac warned that France would be marginalised in Europe if it rejected the constitution, which he described as a necessary set of rules to make the EU more effective.
"If there is a no vote, France will be considerably weakened. If we vote no, what will France's influence be? We won't count any longer," he said.
He ruled out a renegotiation of the constitution if France votes no, warning that such an outcome would leave France as "the black sheep that blocked everything".
Seated on a low platform and surrounded by the 18-30 year-olds chosen to take part in the debate, Mr Chirac faced frequent interruptions from the audience and from the event's moderators, who were chat-show hosts rather than political journalists.
After an uncertain start, the president gained confidence as the debate progressed but some of his remarks could haunt him during the campaign.
Mr Chirac acknowledged, for example, that the referendum on May 29th would not only be a vote on the constitution but also a plebiscite on his own performance as president. "Of course, in this country, it spontaneously becomes a plebiscite and I regret it very much," he said.
Mr Chirac said he would not resign if the constitution was rejected, however, adding that Jean-Pierre Raffarin's post as prime minister was not at stake either. "We are not asking a question about who governs us for the next five years," he said.
He said that the French public, only 5 per cent of whom claim to have a good idea what is in the constitution, appeared to be poorly informed. And he expressed bewilderment at the anxiety felt by young French citizens, 20 per cent of whom are unemployed.
"One has the feeling that the young generation is fearful. I will not deny that it is a feeling I fail to understand," he said.
Mr Chirac rejected claims that the constitution led the EU in an economically liberal direction and insisted that French social legislation and employment rights were protected. "This constitution rejects the ultra-liberal logic British social protection rules - which of course I do not criticise - would not be acceptable in France," he said.
Campaigners for a no vote criticised the format of last night's broadcast, arguing that Mr Chirac ought to have debated the issues with opponents of the constitution rather than with members of the public. Journalists complained that, by allowing a talk show host to moderate last night's debate, its organisers had blurred the boundary between news and entertainment.
Thirteen successive opinion polls in recent weeks have shown majorities in France against the constitution, despite the fact that the country's biggest political parties are backing it.
The constitution has split the French Left, with most Socialists backing it but a minority, led by the former prime minister, Laurent Fabius, calling for a no vote. Right-wing opponents of the constitution have linked the referendum to the EU's decision to start membership talks with Turkey, arguing that a no vote would send a signal that France rejects Ankara's European ambitions.
Politicians from all over Europe will visit France over the next six weeks in an effort to boost the yes campaign. Germany's foreign minister, Joschka Fischer, said in Brittany this week that, if France rejected the constitution and the EU had to fall back on the Nice treaty, it would mean "the end of the European Union".
"The French decision is very important. It is not an internal political question. The future of Europe depends on this decision," he said.
Spain, Slovenia, Lithuania, Hungary and Italy have already approved the constitution and Greece is expected to do so in a parliamentary vote today. Three days after France votes, the Netherlands will hold a referendum that many analysts believe could produce a no vote. The constitution, which would replace the EU's existing treaties, must be approved by all 25 EU member-states before it can enter into force.