German leader joins French campaign for a 'oui' vote on EU constitution

TOULOUSE, France -- Germany became the ninth country to approve the European Union's new constitution Friday, but Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder didn't stick around to celebrate: He hopped on a jet to rally voters in France.

The French appeared determined to rattle the continent and its leaders by saying "non" to the EU treaty in a referendum Sunday. If polls prove right, France will be the first country to vote down the charter strengthening the union it helped found.

Down to the wire, pollsters provided mixed signals Friday night. One survey showed treaty supporters narrowing the lead held by "no" campaigners while another showed the "no" camp's lead growing to 12 points.

French rejection of the constitution would throw Europe's forward momentum into disarray, especially if the Dutch follow France's lead in their referendum next week.

Concern about the treaty has melted borders away. Schroeder was on his third trip to France to stump for the constitution. The rally's location Friday had added symbolism: Toulouse, in southwest France, is the headquarters of Europe's jet-making powerhouse, Airbus.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was plugging for a "oui" in northern France, and he, Schroeder and their French Socialist hosts joined hands symbolically via a satellite hook-up that brought together the cheering crowds of thousands in Toulouse and Lille.

"In Germany, we said 'yes' with all our heart. We beg the French to say 'yes' with all their hearts and their heads," Schroeder said, speaking in German. "We must not destroy our model of society, our idea of a free Europe."

To cheers, he added -- in French -- "Vive la France, vive l'Europe!"

French opponents of the treaty have complained that such campaigning amounts to meddling.

Despite that, a bevy of European politicians were the stars of a final, boisterous Paris rally for the "no" campaign, held at a judo hall. The crowd of some 1,500, standing in front of a banner marked "This time it's non," gave standing ovations to speaker after speaker, each appealing for a defiant rejection of the text. The EU anthem blared over loudspeakers. Flags of all 25 EU nations hung on the walls.

The constitution -- more than two years in the making, backed by much of the French political elite -- is meant to be the EU's next big step in a 50-year process of bringing together nations and peoples divided for centuries by war.

It will streamline EU decision-making and give the bloc a president and foreign minister. Big countries like France would get a greater say in EU decisions. But French opponents fear it will lead to a loss of sovereignty and an influx of cheap labor.

All 25 European countries must approve the charter, either in parliament or by referendums, for it to take effect as planned on Nov. 1, 2006.

The "no" camp polled 56 percent compared to 44 percent for the "yes" camp in a late poll by the Ifop firm. But the CSA agency offered a glimmer of hope for treaty supporters, putting them only 4 points behind.

Some respondents for the new polls were questioned Friday -- after President Jacques Chirac made a last-ditch televised appeal for the treaty on Thursday, telling voters they hold "France's destiny in their hands."

Chirac warned against making the referendum a protest vote -- a temptation for those angered by persistent high unemployment, sluggish economic growth and reforms to France's cherished social protections.

Ultimately, Sunday's result could hinge on the turnout and voters who are undecided.

Germany's upper house of parliament approved the treaty Friday, meaning that nine countries -- comprising 220 million citizens, or nearly half the EU population -- have now approved it.

"The voice of nearly 50 percent of the European Union cannot be ignored," said EU Vice President Margot Wallstrom, pledging the ratification process must go ahead even if France says no.

Former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, the constitution's main architect, held out the possibility that countries could get another chance to approve the text if voters reject it at first.

The decision rested heavily on the shoulders of many French voters, dominating discussion at dinner tables and water coolers. Some found the 448-clause text confusing, even illegible, making if harder for some to make up their minds.

"A thousand lawyers couldn't explain this constitution," said Jean La Pierre, waving a clenched fist at a meeting of "no" voters Thursday evening in a smoky cafe in Paris.

Supporters say the constitution will give Europe a political dimension it hasn't had before, helping transform a free trade bloc into a stronger united force with increased international clout.

The "yes" camp pledges that nations will be able to maintain their cultural identities, welfare systems and public services -- concerns that resonate in France, with its tradition of generous state aid. But "no" voters fear the treaty will let unfettered capitalism flourish.

The debate has brought together bizarre, disparate bands of politicians on either side.

Most of the mainstream right and Socialist politicians back the constitution, though there are many dissenters, even among Chirac's conservative party. Those pushing for a "no" include the Communists and the extreme-right National Front of Jean-Marie Le Pen.

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AP writer Jamey Keaten in Paris contributed to this report.