FranceThe French media have given Jacques Chirac a thumbs-down for his televised debate on Thursday to promote a Yes vote in next month's referendum on the EU constitution.
Most newspapers judged that the president failed to make the case for the constitution in a way that would persuade many potential No voters.
Le Monde said in an editorial that the president had failed to reassure young people who were worried about unemployment, economic insecurity and the flight of jobs to eastern Europe.
"Instead of observing with sadness the 'pessimism' of the young people and repeating, on several occasions, the exhortation of John Paul II, 'Be not afraid', Mr Chirac would have been more convincing and more persuasive if he had been able to put more passion into the expression of his European convictions.
"Behind the president who did his duty, one saw a lukewarm European, poorly hiding his lack of European conviction," it said.
Le Parisien described Mr Chirac's performance as "complicated, chaotic and - all things considered - a very disappointing broadcast", and the regional daily Ouest-France said that he struggled to hit the right note with his young audience.
"It was very difficult to get the tone right, to avoid both demagoguery and preaching . . . One cannot be certain that he succeeded," the paper said.
Libération said it was ironic that Mr Chirac, as a centre-right politician, used the spectre of American economic liberalism to convince left-wing voters they should back the constitution.
"Like in the second round of the presidential election in 2002, he actually explained again that one can be on the left or against Chirac, but still vote in favour of the text.
"He did all this with the nerve required by a man who realises the strong desire of many French people to tell him No personally through a No vote," the paper said.
"The head of state often struggled to make heard his pro-European plea during a muddled broadcast," Le Figaro said.
Opponents of the constitution accused Mr Chirac of attempting to scare voters with his warning that a No vote would rob France of its political influence in Europe.
The former Socialist prime minister, Laurent Fabius, said the president sent out conflicting messages.
"I was very struck to see Mr Chirac saying on the one hand, don't be afraid, but his main argument was to try to create fear . . . I found Mr Chirac, like the constitution, long and not very convincing," he said.
Greece yesterday postponed until Tuesday a parliamentary vote to ratify the constitution, which is expected to be passed.