France's Chirac tries to save EU Constitution
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-04-15 09:06

French President Jacques Chirac began his campaign to save the European Union constitution on Thursday by warning voters that France could "cease to exist politically" in the EU if they reject it in a referendum.

Chirac mixed warnings of dire consequences and gentle lecturing on the content of the constitution in a live televised debate with 83 young people, in which he began a mission to turn back a rising tide of opposition before the vote on May 29.

He said the treaty could not be renegotiated if voters reject it but that he would not resign over the treaty on which he has staked his personal prestige.

French President Jacques Chirac, right, gestures during a live television appearance at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday April 14, 2005. Chirac has chosen a televised two-hour debate with 80 young French peolple to make his first campaign pitch for a 'Yes' in the May 29 referendum. [AP]

"If by chance France did not vote in favor, France would at least for a certain time cease to exist politically at the heart of this Europe," the president said in his concluding comments after a more than two-hour debate at his Elysee palace.

Asked if he might resign if the referendum failed, he said: "No. That is not the question French people are being asked."

Chirac entered the fray with opinion polls showing the anti-treaty campaign is clearly ahead just six weeks before the referendum. The surveys point to deep discontent with high unemployment and with France's declining influence in Europe.

The charter is intended to make decision-making easier following the admission of 10 new members last May. Rejection could cause a crisis at the heart of the Union because the treaty requires the approval of all 25 EU member states.

Chirac, who sat in a chair at a desk as he fielded questions under sparkling chandeliers, urged voters not to mix their dissatisfaction with domestic political and economic matters with the issues at stake in the vote on the constitution.

DON'T BE ASHAMED

"We have no reason to be ashamed of Europe, the first economic power in the world," Chirac said. "You need rules to be organized. These rules are provided in the constitution."

He dismissed the argument of the "No" camp that the constitution can be renegotiated to make it better. Renegotiating a treaty that was agreed by EU leaders last year after years of discussion was not realistic, he said.

"In reality you would have 24 countries that voted yes and then the black sheep that blocked everything," he said. "France would be weakened considerably."

He said the charter adopted by EU leaders last year would strengthen France and Europe by giving the Union rules that would govern it better and help it size up in a world with other big powers such as the United States and China.

Chirac, 72, delayed his first foray into the campaign in the hope he could give the treaty's supporters a late boost to claw back the lead from the "No" camp. He feared the campaign would lose momentum if he entered too soon.

Chirac's center-right supporters say his strong campaigning skills hold the key to victory, but critics say the president is so unpopular in some quarters that his decision to back the constitution openly could backfire.

Supporters say a "No" vote could halt EU integration and ensure decisions are slow and hard to reach because the current voting system is unsuitable for a larger Union.

Some financial analysts also say a political crisis caused by the treaty's rejection could undermine the euro currency and unnerve financial markets in countries aspiring to join the EU.

But the constitution's critics say the European Union is better off without it and the euro would not be undermined.

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