Desperate Chirac in Final Plea for Eu Yes

Jacques Chirac made a final attempt to reverse France's determination to reject the EU constitution last night, imploring voters "not to answer the wrong question" and insisting their choice was "about your future, your children's future, the future of France and of Europe".

In a solemn address on television and radio, the president said it would be wrong to use Sunday's referendum to punish his government. He said it was his duty to warn of the consequences of a French non, and promised the treaty would make France stronger, guarantee its social advances and protect its public services.

As two more polls put the no camp ahead yesterday, Mr Chirac said a no vote would be seen everywhere as "a no to Europe", opening a period of "divisions, doubts, uncertainties". It would be an illusion, to think Europe could pick up again with a new project - "there is no other project".

Rejecting the treaty would also leave France weakened: "Do you really think we will be able to defend our interests with the same strength and weight?" he asked.

And it would leave "the ultra-liberals with the upper hand, reducing Europe to a mere market".

Acknowledging that much of the French opposition to the constitution was rooted in the belief that it would promote unfettered capitalism, hurt French jobs and destroy social gains, he said the treaty would create a union that could "humanise globalisation".

He made no comment on what stance France would adopt in the event of a non, but several European leaders have said the process must continue in other member states.

Britain has said it will go ahead with its planned referendum in 2006 "as long as there is a treaty to ratify".

Mr Chirac's appeal came, however, amid growing indications that he and most of his cabinet - including the deeply unpopular prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, who is almost certain to be out of a job next week - had already resigned themselves to defeat.

The president met journalists earlier and admitted it would now be "extremely difficult" to turn the tide.

Nicolas Sarkozy, the leader of Mr Chirac's ruling UMP party, reportedly remarked: "The referendum? It'll be a small no ... or a big no."

The post mortems are already under way in the Socialist party, which officially backs a yes vote but has been unable to persuade a majority of its voters to do likewise.

Yesterday's two polls put French opposition at 54% and 55%. More than 80% of those questioned said their minds were now made up.

The president's appeal was deliberately different to his two previous TV appearances, in which he debated unconvincingly with a handpicked audience of young people and answered questions from an interviewer. This time he delivered his 10-minute text uninterrupted from behind his desk at the Elysée palace.

Several commentators suggested that the format would be counter-productive. They said Mr Chirac, whose personal approval rating is at its lowest in eight years, was not seen as credible on EU matters, and that most undecided voters, particularly on the left, would resent being browbeaten by a man whose domestic policies they disliked.

Designed to make the EU more efficient and democratic, the constitution has to be ratified by all 25 member states. A French rejection, which would almost certainly be followed by a no vote in the Netherlands three days later, is widely seen as leaving it dead in the water.