French territories begin EU voting
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| | EU CONSTITUTION | * Permanent EU president to replace six-month rotating presidencies
* EU foreign minister to conduct common foreign policy
* Qualified majority voting in most areas with vetoes limited
* Commission to be reduced to 15 with 10 non-voting associates
* Policy areas covered by European Parliament up from 34 to 70
* Tax harmonization
* Legally binding Charter of Fundamental Rights
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PARIS, France -- Overseas voters cast their ballots on Saturday in France's crucial referendum on the European Union's constitution, with the "No" camp holding its lead in the final opinion polls.
Suspense was growing in France with only hours to go before more than 40 million French voted in a ballot which could reshape the future of Europe.
The political temperature was raised by suggestions in one opinion poll that the "No" vote -- seen as comfortably ahead -- had slipped in the final hours of campaigning after a passionate TV appeal by President Jacques Chirac.
Voters in French overseas territories -- numbering some 1.5 million -- began voting Saturday.
The first to vote from 1000 GMT were residents of St. Pierre and Miquelon -- a group of rugged, wind-swept fishing islands south of Newfoundland, Canada. The islands are France's last enclave in North America.
Other territories voting ahead of mainland France included Martinique and Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, and Tahiti and New Caledonia in the South Pacific.
One survey Friday showed a sharp drop in the size of the majority opposing the treaty, giving its supporters some hope going into the vote. The lone poll, if accurate, could show a lifeline for the "Yes" camp, led by Chirac.
The approval of all 25 European Union countries is necessary for the constitution to take effect. Experts disagree about what a French rejection would mean or whether a second French vote would be possible.
Supporters say rejection would kill the constitution and weaken France in Europe. Opponents say a "No" vote would force the EU to redraft the treaty and improve it.
"Europe stands to be put back years by a rejection and all the existing fears in the population would only be exacerbated," Jean-Luc Dehaene, former Belgian prime minister and one of the key architects of the charter, told Belgian magazine Vacature.
Polling stations open at 8 a.m. local time Sunday (0600 GMT) and close in Paris and Lyon at 10 p.m. (2000 GMT). A firm results is expected by 11.30 p.m.(2130 GMT).
As Germany officially ratified the new constitution in parliament without a public vote, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, a close Chirac ally, urged the French to back the treaty. (Germany approves charter)
"If we want to play our role in the world, if we want to take decisions and not see them imposed by others, if we want to keep our European social model, we can do only so with a strong and united Europe," he wrote in Saturday's Le Figaro newspaper.
"The European constitution lays the foundations," he added.
A poll by Ifop research group Friday showed the "No" camp on 56 percent support. But a survey by CSA polling group showed 52 percent of voters who have decided how to vote will oppose the charter, a drop of 3 percentage points since Thursday.
The CSA poll put supporters of the treaty on 48 percent, a figure that rose to 49 percent among voters questioned on Friday -- one day after Chirac made a final televised plea to voters to back the constitution.
The constitution is intended to make the EU work more smoothly following its enlargement last year.
Supporters say the constitution will help make Europe and France stronger. Opponents say it enshrines economic policies that have failed to stop the loss of jobs to low-wage economies.
As well as Chancellor Schroeder Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero also lent his support at a rally for the "yes" camp.
Polls in the Netherlands, which holds its own referendum on the constitution on Wednesday suggest the "no" camp is leading by 60-40 percent.
Chirac appeal
On Thursday, French President Jacques Chirac made his solemn, last-ditch effort on television to convince the French to vote "yes."
"On Sunday, each of us will have a part of France's destiny in their hands," he said.
"What a responsibility if France, a founder nation of Europe, took the risk of breaking the union of our continent."
A European Commission spokesman confirmed that the ratification process for the constitution would go ahead regardless of the outcome of referendums in France and in the Netherlands.
| THE BALLOT | The question to voters:
"Do you approve the proposed law authorizing the ratification of the treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe?"
The mechanics:
Voters are given two slips of paper marked "Oui" and "Non." They put one in a sealed envelope, which they place in a ballot box.
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"The procedures have been completed in nine countries representing over 220 million citizens. That is almost 49 percent of EU population. The Commission thinks this is a very important reason why the ratification procedures should go forward," Mikolaj Dowgielewicz told The Associated Press.
If the "No" camp wins, Chirac would suffer the humiliation of becoming only the second leader, after Gen. Charles de Gaulle, to lose a referendum since the founding of the French Fifth Republic in 1958.
The president has said he would not resign if the French vote "no."
But he hinted that he might respond to calls to sack his unpopular Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin and make policy changes. "During this debate, Europe has not been the only issue. Concerns and expectations have been expressed.
"I am fully aware of this. I will respond by giving a new impetus to our action," he said. He gave no details.
The French Communist Party said Chirac had used his broadcast to "try one last con," according to Reuters.
"According to him, the treaty would be an appropriate response to all our problems. French men and women know it's nothing of the sort," it said in a statement.
Former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing used a speech to the German parliament on Friday to issue a last-minute appeal to French voters to back the new European constitution in this weekend's referendum. (Full story)
Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel told Austrian daily Die Presse: "I hope the result will be good, and if not, then we will have to sit down together and jointly define a way."
French and EU leaders have said there is no "Plan B" to fall back on if French voters reject the treaty.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
