France faces diplomatic isolation if it rejects the European Union constitution in a referendum next month, a senior minister said on Sunday. Opinion polls suggest France could reject the treaty in the vote on May 29, but Industry Minister Patrick Devedjian said he believed French voters would end up backing the charter. Devedjian also hailed the arrival of President Jacques Chirac in the referendum campaign later this week, saying he would set out to explain the constitution during a televised debate on Thursday. "I am optimistic because I have faith in the intelligence of the French people ... In the end, reason will prevail," Devedjian told Radio J. He said France risked being the only EU member state to reject the constitution. "It would be a situation of diplomatic isolation. This is not a way to strengthen our influence," he said. Devedjian was the latest minister to issue a warning about the consequences of rejecting the treaty after the "No" campaign took the lead in opinion polls for the first time last month. The constitution, intended to help the EU work smoothly after its enlargement from 15 to 25 member states last May, requires the approval of all member states to go into force. --More 2147 Local Time 1847 GMT
