For the first time a majority of French say they plan to vote 'no' in the national referendum on the European constitution to be held in May, according to a poll to be published Friday in the daily Le Parisien.Perhaps they would prefer "We the people..."!
According to the poll, carried out by the CSA institute, 51 percent intend to vote 'no' and 49 percent 'yes'. The latest poll is likely to worry French President Jacques Chirac, who has been campaigning hard for a yes vote.
The John Kerry of France? Not a pretty legacy...
But the French electorate, angry over economic and labour reforms imposed by the conservative government and wary over Chirac's push to have Turkey become an EU member in the future, is in a volatile mood.
But what about the "French street"?
Street protests have been gathering pace in recent weeks and reached a crescendo last Thursday with a crippling national strike in a scene reminiscent of demonstrations in 1995 that eventually brought down the previous centre-right government.