By Anna McLauchlin - 20th April 2004
British leader Tony Blair's referendum U-turn on a European constitution has put the cat amongst the EU pigeons, according to newspapers across the continent on Wednesday.
Libération claims the pressure is now on French president Jacques Chirac who has so far resisted a referendum despite calls from his own party leader Alain Juppé and prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin since last summer.
Former socialist minister for EU affairs Pierre Moscovici says if the UK is holding a referendum there is no way France can avoid it.
"I do not see how we could refuse to let the people speak", he told the French daily. "It would be a denial of democracy."
And Le Figaro reports that while French eurosceptics are rejoicing at the UK's decision - "Its the first time in my life I'm sorry not to be English!" exclaimed the head of Movement for France party Philippe de Villiers - pro-Europeans have complained Blair has been "bullied by the opposition".
Meanwhile German Handelsblatt reports Paris and Berlin are now coordinating to ensure a smooth ratification process - set to avoid a French or German referendum.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung quotes German conservative Peter Hintze accusing Blair of introducing "a significant stumbling block on the road of European integration".
El Pais points out that only 20 of the 25 future EU states must approve the treaty for the constitution to survive.
Referendums planned to date are the UK, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the Czech Republic and Luxembourg, Denmark and Ireland.
Only Denmark and Ireland's votes will be legally binding, although when the Irish rejected the EU Nice treaty in 2001 they were asked to vote again in 2002.
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