Second poll shows bulk of French anti-EU charter

PARIS, March 20 (AFP) – A majority of French voters intend to vote against the European Union’s constitution in a May referendum, according to a poll released Sunday, the second survey showing growing opposition to the text.

According to the poll carried out Friday and Saturday, 52 percent of French voters are opposed to the EU constitution while 48 percent would vote in favor of the text.

France is one of 10 EU member states to have chosen to hold a popular vote on the constitution, which must be approved by all 25 nations before October 2006 for it to come into effect.

On Friday, a survey carried out for the daily Le Parisien said 51 percent of voters were opposed to the constitution – the first indication that France was turning against the text.

The figures are bad news for President Jacques Chirac, who has put his political weight behind the EU constitution, and showed the difficulties of mobilising support for a document that few members of the public pretend to understand clearly. The referendum is scheduled May 29.

According to Sunday’s poll, there is growing opposition to the text particularly among left-wing voters, with only 45 percent favoring the text, compared to 54 percent in a poll two weeks ago in which a total of 60 percent of voters said they backed the constitution.

Support also dropped among right-wing voters, with 67 percent intending to vote yes to the constitution, compared to 72 percent two weeks ago.

Sunday’s survey was carried out by IPSOS for the daily Le Figaro and radio Europe 1. The poll was based on telephone interviews with 860 registered voters. No margin of error was given.