President implores French to approve new EU constitution

PARIS -- With his hopes for Europe on the line, President Jacques Chirac went on national television to deliver a dramatic appeal for a continent-wide constitution -- warning his countrymen that they hold "France's destiny in their hands" in a weekend referendum.

Urging voters to think of their children, Chirac said Thursday a "oui" vote in Sunday's referendum will enable France to "defend its interests and remain one of the motors of Europe."

But he spoke of dire consequences of giving a "non" vote to the landmark treaty -- planned as the next big step in a 50-year process of European integration.

"It would open a period of divisions, of doubts, of uncertainties," he warned in the address from the presidential Elysee Palace, his last of a tumultuous campaign. "What a responsibility if France, a founder nation of Europe, took the risk of breaking the union of our continent."

"On Sunday, each of us will have a part of France's destiny in their hands," he said.

The latest polls showed French opponents of the text extending their lead, with two surveys giving them 55 percent and another 54 percent. Treaty supporters number about 45 or 46 percent, according to the polls.

The president dismissed as "an illusion" arguments of opponents, who say the text could be renegotiated to make it more amenable to the French if they vote "no."

Polls show that many voters don't believe warnings from Chirac and from EU leaders that the treaty, which took Europe more than two years to put together, cannot be negotiated.

"There is no other project," Chirac repeated. "Europe would be broken down, searching for an impossible consensus."

Chirac did not address mounting speculation he will fire his unpopular prime minister if France rejects the treaty. But he urged the French not to turn the plebiscite into a vote of sanction against his administration.

"We must not mistake the question," said Chirac. "It is not about saying yes or no to the government. It is about your future, that of your children, of the future of France and the future of Europe. The decision before us goes far beyond traditional political divisions."

Chirac said a challenge facing Europe is economic competition from the United States, Japan, China and "tomorrow India and others." Europe also must preserve its social model and defend its "values of peace and justice," he said.

If voters reject the constitution, Chirac would suffer the humiliation of becoming only the second leader, after Gen. Charles de Gaulle, to lose a referendum since the founding of the French Fifth Republic in 1958.

A "no" could, at least temporarily, kill off the proposed constitution and its stated goal of closer integration among the EU's 25 member states. Each state must approve the text by referendum or parliamentary vote for it to take effect in 2006.

Proponents say the constitution, which EU leaders signed last October, will streamline EU operations and decision-making and give the bloc a president and foreign minister. But French opponents say it will lead to a loss of sovereignty and an influx of cheap labor.

Chirac has said he won't resign if the charter is rejected. But government officials said he would likely replace his unpopular right-hand man, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, who in three years as prime minister has overseen a rise in the unemployment rate to 10 percent and difficult reforms to pensions, health care and other treasured French social protections.

Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin, who as foreign minister made France's case at the United Nations against the U.S.-led Iraq war, and Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie were seen as the most likely replacements for Raffarin. Another possibility is Nicolas Sarkozy, who heads Chirac's Union for a Popular Movement and previously, as interior minister, presided over a drop in crime. Sarkozy is seen as a long shot to replace Raffarin because of his rivalry with Chirac.

But Chirac might name Sarkozy anyway, some observers say: Handing him the tough job of premier might be the easiest way to dent the popularity of a rival who could challenge Chirac for the presidency should the French leader stand again in 2007.

The issue is not divided along party lines. Chirac's conservatives and the rival Socialists are pushing for a "yes," while figures from within both parties are loudly dissenting.

Bucking the party line, Socialist former Prime Minister Laurent Fabius has campaigned strongly for a "no." On Thursday, he warned opponents not to succumb to the belief that they have already won, calling for them to turn out in force Sunday.

"Everyone is saying, this is it, it's already done," Fabius told France-Info radio. "I don't believe that. It's not the polls that count, it's the vote."

A "no" would put extreme-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen on the winning side. The 76-year-old anti-immigration leader has spent his career fighting European integration. He argues that the constitution aims to create a European super-state that would swallow up France.

"France would disappear if we adopted the European Constitution," the fiery leader told 1,500 people at a rally Wednesday night.

The European Constitution would place France "under the American protectorate of NATO," Le Pen claimed.

But even bookmakers had the "no" camp as a hot favorite.

Paddy Power in Ireland and Betfair.com in Britain reported a steady flow of bets for "no" -- favored at 1-to-2 odds. "Yes" had slid to 6-4.