French 'No' to EU treaty would damage France - Chirac

French President Jacques Chirac, buoyed by surging support for the EU constitution, warned voters rejecting the charter would hurt French interests and set back 50 years of European development.

The charter enshrined French demands on defending public services from the ravages of free markets, gave an important place to social concerns and would help France better defend its interests in a globalised world economy, Mr Chirac said in a television interview at the Elysee Palace.

Asked about the impact of a 'No' vote in a May 29 referendum on the treaty, Mr Chirac said: "I don't know if it would be a difficult moment for me, but what I do know is that it would be a very difficult moment for France.

"(France) would emerge from this adventure considerably weakened, weakened in terms of defending its interests, its values, and would be responsible for a breakdown of the European construction that has been developing for 50 years."

The EU constitution, intended to streamline decision-making in the European Union after 10 new members joined last May, must be approved by all 25 states to come into force.

For six weeks, opponents of the charter enjoyed a solid lead in opinion polls, but three of the last five polls showed a narrow majority of voters planned to approve the constitution in the referendum called by Mr Chirac.

Significantly, all five surveys showed the 'Yes' vote rising at the expense of the once dominant 'No' camp, which took the lead in polls in mid-March.

Nevertheless, treaty opponents insist the race is not over and some complained the authorities were using unfair tactics.

"For the past week, the campaign has switched into what one could call state propaganda," said Philippe de Villiers, a nationalist opposed to the constitution.

France's EU partners fear the constitution's rejection by EU founder member France could trigger a political crisis and unsettle financial markets, at least in the short-term.

Allies have flocked to Paris in support of the 'Yes' vote, but a row over surging Chinese textile exports raised fears the issue could boost the 'No' campaign. Many treaty opponents blame the EU for failing to protect European businesses.

But Mr Chirac said Europe had forced China to contemplate curbing its textile exports: "Had France been alone, nobody in China would have attached the slightest importance to what France had to say."

The French government has struggled to sell the treaty to the public, hamstrung by 10.2 per cent unemployment (a five-year high), hostility to the government's economic reforms and dissatisfaction with Mr Chirac's 10 years in power.

The approval rating of the 72-year-old leader stands at 44 per cent, his worst score since his re-election in 2002, a CSA poll for La Vie/France Info showed late on Tuesday.

Defeat in the referendum could compromise any ambitions Mr Chirac harbours to run again in 2007 and is expected spell the end for his long-suffering Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, although he refused to be drawn on the latter's future.

The questioning by two experienced journalists on France 2 television was billed in some quarters as a re-sit of a flunked oral examination, a reference to Mr Chirac's April 14 debate with young voters that was widely seen as a flop.

Mr Chirac has sought to rebound with a flurry of public events this past week, notably using the successful maiden flight of the world's biggest passenger jet, the Airbus A380, to extol the virtues of Europe and its new constitution.

The revival of the 'Yes' vote has coincided with a growth of leftwing support, due in part to a television appeal by Lionel Jospin, the ex-prime minister who retains influence over core Socialist voters despite his defeat to Mr Chirac three years ago.