Second poll shows French oppose EU charter

French President Jacques Chirac faced renewed pressure over the European Union's proposed Constitution as a second poll within days showed a majority of French people would oppose it in a referendum.

Fifty-two per cent of those who said they were certain to vote in the referendum on May 29 are against the treaty, compared with 40 per cent in early March, according to the Ipsos poll conducted for Le Figaro newspaper.

The survey, published yesterday, appeared to confirm a turnaround in views among French voters after a poll showed for the first time that a slim majority opposed the treaty.

The Constitution must be supported by all 25 EU states for it to come into force.

The prospect of France, one of Europe's founding members, blocking the treaty rang alarm bells in Brussels and drew calls from among the treaty's supporters in France for Chirac to act.

"Faced with a choice of this magnitude, the President is obliged to speak up," Francois Bayrou, leader of the pro-European centrist UDF party, said.

French Socialist Pascal Lamy, who until recently was European trade commissioner, urged the "yes" camp to "roll up their shirtsleeves".

He rejected arguments from the "no" side that France could renegotiate the treaty if the referendum went against it.

"Those who say this either have a very poor understanding of the balance of forces or else they are telling lies. Either way, it's a problem," Mr Lamy told Le Parisien daily.

"The other countries would not understand us and our negotiating position would be weakened," he added.

The treaty was brokered by former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing and aims to streamline EU politics. Leftist critics say it enshrines capitalist values while those on the far right say it will speed up Turkish entry to the EU.

Support also appears to have slipped after a clash between Brussels and Paris over an EU plan to liberalise its services sector which unions say could hurt workers and consumers. Tens of thousands protested against the plan in Brussels on Saturday.

The latest Figaro survey showed support for the treaty crumbling most quickly on the left, to the delight of a rebel Socialist senator who is campaigning hard for a "no" vote.

"It's on the left that the ice pack is melting and people are becoming convinced that voting "no" would be good for France," Jean-Luc Melenchon said on LCI television.

Officially, the opposition Socialists back the charter and party leader Francois Hollande has urged the conservative Mr Chirac to nail his colours to the mast.

But the President has largely refrained from entering the debate, leaving it to his government to campaign for a "yes".

He said after talks with Russia, Germany and Spain on Friday that he still believed France would back the charter.