Opposition to the European Union constitution is growing in France despite political leaders' efforts to drum up support for the treaty.
Fifty-five percent of French voters who have decided how they will vote in a May 29 referendum on the constitution plan to reject the text, according to the poll for the weekly Marianne magazine, to be published today.
The poll was the third survey in less than two weeks to show a majority against a constitution that is intended to make the EU work more smoothly.
The proportion opposed to the treaty has risen from 51 percent and 52 percent in the two previous polls - a trend which will dismay France's main political parties, who have stepped up their campaign for the EU treaty in recent days.
President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said this week France risked losing influence in the EU if it rejected the constitution and urged voters to judge the text on its own merits rather than linking it to other issues.
Nevertheless, opposition to Turkey's possible EU entry was one of the main reasons cited by those in the 'no' camp, with a desire for EU policy to have a social dimension close behind.
One in five said they would use the referendum as a chance to cast a protest vote against the ruling conservatives.
Half of those polled said they would either abstain, cast blank ballots, or have yet to make up their minds -- about the same proportion as in the two earlier polls which showed a majority against the text.