French President Jacques Chirac, buoyed by surging support for the EU constitution, this evening warned voters that rejecting the charter would hurt French interests and set back 50 years of European development.
The constitution enshrined French demands on defending public services from free market reformers, 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 29th 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 treaty enjoyed a solid lead in opinion polls, but three of the last five polls showed a narrow majority of voters planned to vote in favour.
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.