France Rejects Europe Charter

With nearly all ballots counted, the Interior Ministry reported that 55.5% of voters had rejected the constitution and 44.5% had approved it.

Although the defeat had been predicted in recent polls, the result was nonetheless remarkable. France, a founder of the European Union and its powerhouse for decades, may have scuttled an ambitious plan -- written by a former French president -- to make the alliance a stronger, more cohesive political entity.

Nine EU nations have approved the document, but it needs to be ratified by all 25 members to take effect. Although some prominent French and European leaders warned that France's rejection would doom the larger ratification process, others said that a second-chance vote might be possible.

The document would strengthen the powers of the EU presidency, its foreign affairs representative and its Parliament, and would streamline decision-making to ease the integration of the 10 nations who joined last year.

But many French voters expressed discontent with the EU, saying it had become an aloof, undemocratic bureaucracy that had grown too fast. They feared the new constitution would hurt French living standards by unleashing economic competition and immigration from poorer countries in Eastern Europe.

The defeat was a devastating repudiation for Chirac, now in his 10th year in office. As an elder statesman, he gambled by submitting the issue to voters instead of following the safer path of legislative approval, chosen by eight out of the nine other member states that have endorsed the document so far.

Some rivals demanded Sunday that Chirac resign, arguing that the dramatic result revealed a chasm between the government and an angry electorate.

The 72-year-old Chirac ignored the sniping. He gave a short speech promising to respond to the voters' concerns by quickly overhauling his government -- a statement seen by many as indication that he plans to replace embattled Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin.

"Make no mistake, France's decision inevitably creates a difficult context for the defense of our interests in Europe," Chirac said. He added that EU leaders would consider their options at a regularly scheduled meeting in Brussels next month.