Sarkozy faces difficult test on Irish visit

French President Nicolas Sarkozy faces a potentially hostile audience in Dublin today when he visits to "listen and understand" the reasons Irish voters rejected the EU reform treaty last month.

Mr Sarkozy, whose country holds the rotating European Union presidency, has the task of finding a way out of the crisis sparked by the Irish vote, which sank hopes of adopting a treaty intended to fix the bloc's unwieldy decision-making processes.

The text, agreed after French voters rejected a proposed EU constitutional charter in 2005, must be ratified by every EU member state before it can come into force.

But Mr Sarkozy's visit has been overshadowed by a furore over a remark he made at a closed-door meeting with French lawmakers that the Irish would have to vote again on the treaty.

His comment reportedly sparked "quiet fury" in the Irish government, and opponents of the treaty were openly outraged by what they saw as outside interference.

French officials have been at pains to stress that Mr Sarkozy's remark, relayed by parliamentarians at the meeting, was not for public consumption and they say no decision can be made until the reasons for the Irish "No" vote have been fully analysed.