Ireland's No spurs French opponents of treaty

Ireland's vote against the Treaty of Nice has turned into a nightmare for the French government. Since the Irish result was announced on Friday, the Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin, has been swamped with demands for a referendum in France, or at least a postponement of tomorrow's vote on ratification in the National Assembly.

Leaving a Socialist Party meeting on Saturday, Mr Jospin said he was "disappointed" by the Irish No but that the French vote must go ahead. The speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Raymond Forni, said it would be an error to delay voting because "that would add to the unease created by the vote in Ireland".

The Irish vote galvanised French opponents of the treaty. The centre-right UDF - considered the most pro-European of French parties - had said it would abstain from voting, "so as not to join our voices with those of the anti-Europeans". Party leaders have now called on UDF deputies to vote No.

"God is Irish," one UDF leader reportedly cried out when the Irish result was announced. Mr Herve de Charette, a former French foreign minister and the UDF's deputy leader, issued a statement saying that the Irish referendum "confirms the impasse in which this unfortunate negotiation of the Treaty of Nice has placed the European Union". In these circumstances, the UDF said, it recommended postponing the vote in the National Assembly. Mr Francois Bayrou, the leader of the UDF who is challenging President Jacques Chirac for the right-wing nomination in next year's presidential election, was even more strident than Mr Charette. Mr Bayrou demanded a referendum "so that the French understand, form an opinion and pronounce themselves".

The Nice Treaty "is not a step forward; it's a step backward", Mr Bayrou added. "I am convinced that the response of the French would be the same as the Irish."

Mr Bayrou said he hoped "that the Irish No means this harmful treaty is stillborn". In an interview with Liberation he noted that the Irish were "the most European people in the Union". Their rejection of the treaty was "the direct result of all the ambiguities of this text; we harvested in Dublin what we sowed in Nice".

Liberation devoted three pages to what it called "The Irish Ambush". Its editorial criticised Mr Bayrou for aligning himself with the 17 per cent of the Irish population who showed they were "visceral anti-Europeans" by voting against the treaty.

But to the government's consternation, editorials in France's two main newspapers also questioned the wisdom of the treaty. Le Figaro asked whether "the Irish incident" might inspire European leaders "to imagine new, viable institutions". And under the headline "Euro confusion", Le Monde said the treaty was "as clear as a bowl of Irish stew".