Meerderheid Fransen vóór EU-grondwet (en)

Over half of the French people would vote "yes" in the forthcoming referendum on the Constitution, according to a new poll to be published on Thursday (16 September) in Le Point newspaper.

The survey showed 51 percent of voters "are tending towards a 'yes' vote" with 34 percent having the opposite opinion.

But a greater proportion of French voters support the stance of the deputy leader of the Socialist Party Laurent Fabius, who has attached conditions to his support of the Constitution.

Overall, 61 percent of people support this "no, unless" policy, compared to 32 percent who disagree with it.

France is expected to hold the referendum in the second half of 2005 and has a history of delivering close results - the Treaty of Maastricht, which paved the way to the single currency, was passed by a whisker (51-49 percent).

The survey, conducted by Ipsos, asked 937 people.