France says Non to the Constitution
France has rejected the EU Constitution with 54.87 per cent of the electors voting against the treaty and 45.13 per cent voting in favour, final results show.
The turnout of the referendum was very high, 69.74 per cent, with an abstention rate of only 30,26 per cent, very close to the 30.3 per cent during the previous EU-related referendum, on the treaty of Maastricht in 1992.
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Reacting to the result, President Jacques Chirac called it the "sovereign decision" of the French people.
He also referred to the implications of the no vote saying "the decision of France inevitably creates a difficult context for defending our interests in Europe".
But the president has yet to tackle the implications for his own centre-right government saying he would take a decision on its future "in the coming days".
The announcement of the results puts an end to months of intensive campaigns, debates and speculations over which side would win.
But it will unleash huge debate about what the implications will mean for the rest of Europe.