European foreign ministers alarmed about possible French rejection of EU pact News
European foreign ministers alarmed about possible French rejection of EU pact

[JURIST] Foreign ministers from European Union [official website] countries expressed alarm Saturday about growing resistance in France to the proposed European constitution [official website; treaty text]. A new poll released Saturday that was conducted after Thursday's TV pitch by French President Jacques Chirac [JURIST report] shows that 56% of French voters plan to vote "No" [Bloomberg report] in a referendum May 29th to decide whether to accept or reject the constitution, a gain of three perscentage points for the No side. Along with French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier, foreign ministers from Luxembourg, Denmark, and the Netherlands have rallied to support the constitution among French voters and voters in their own countries. A "No" vote from France could send a message to Britain, the Netherlands and elsewhere where support for the charter is also waning that a Europe united through a constitution is unfeasible. Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot expressed concern that there was not a "plan B" should the constitution be rejected in France and stated that voting "Yes" was the only way to proceed with the constitution. Reuters has more.