France Votes Down Euro -Constitution

AP-Paris

In a blow to unified Europe, French citizens voted 55-45 against the European Constitution. While widely expected during the countdown to the election's final days, the strength of bitterness and anger on the part of French citizens was shocking to the Chirac government.

According to interviews conducted by LeMonde, over half of those opposed to the Constitution agreed with this sentiment:

I am concerned that we as Frenchmen will be ceding sovereignty to Brussels.

But even more disturbing was that 65% of citizens on both sides of this issue agreed with this statement:

So long as France is a sovereign nation, we will not need to bathe.

Apparently, much of the split in the electorate was about whether bathing is a good thing.