French referendum on EU Constitution set for 29 May[de] 

France's Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin will be heading the 'Yes' campaign. Despite a voter environment which appears to be generally supportive of the new treaty, Mr Raffarin may not have an easy task. He had a weak election track record in 2004 after losing three votes at the local, regional and European levels. His approval rating currently stands at around 30 per cent.

'Yes' campaigners have the complex task of convincing the French public that the Constitutional Treaty will not decide on Turkish accession and that Europe is not taking a sharp turn in an overly liberal direction, which are the two main arguments coming from 'No' campaigners on the political right and left, respectively. 

A few days ago the Commission decided to rewrite its proposal for a directive which aims to open up European services markets to internal competition, partly due to fear of a possible French 'No' to the Constitution.

The UMP launched its campaign for a French 'Oui' on 6 March. The slogan to support the campaign is "L'Europe mérite qu'on lui dise 'oui'" [Europe deserves a 'yes' from us]. The UMP President Nicolas Sarkozy was quick to make a clear distinction between the ratification of the Constitutional Treaty (to which the UMP has been in favour) and the issue of possible Turkish accession to the EU (to which the UMP has been opposed, advocating an 'associated partner' status instead). "It is very important to educate and explain why it is in our interest to vote yes," Sarkozy has said.

The secretary-general of the French Socialist Party, François Hollande, said the task was to demonstrate the progress inherent in the Constitutional Treaty and the strong reasons why the French should vote 'oui'. Following an internal vote, the Socialist Party decided to back the Constitution. The three strongest reasons in favour of the treaty are, according to Hollande, the strengthening of the European institutions and the creation of the post of EU foreign minister; the inclusion of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Moreover, the new treaty recognises public services for the first time and it gives trade unions the status of 'European partners'.

Although according to many, the short time frame favours the 'Yes' camp, representatives of the 'No' camp are adamant. "Saying 'No' to the Giscard's Constitution is giving a chance to a social, democratic and peaceful Europe," Marie-George Buffet, national secretary of the French Communist Party, has said. Alain Krivine of the Revolutionary Communist League said that he would work towards a unitary campaign of all anti-liberal forces for a leftist 'No'.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the president of the Front national has said that since the day of the referendum coincides with mothers' day this will be a good opportunity for the sons and daughters of the French motherland to vote against the new treaty which, in his view, aims to destroy national sovereignty and liberty. Philippe de Villiers, the president of Movement for France (MPF) has called on Jacques Chirac to make himself available for a public debate sometime before the referendum. He recalled a televised debate broadcast in 1992 before the referendum on the Maastricht Treaty, between François Mitterrand and MP Philippe Séguin.