The clear French No vote to the European Union's constitutional treaty is a grave blow both to President Jacques Chirac and to the EU as a whole. Not for the first time, the French president has made a huge political miscalculation, by calling a referendum at a moment of deep unpopularity for his own government, and then by failing to fight it in a whole-hearted and positive way. But the price will be paid not only by the French government. It will also cause confusion and possibly a political stalemate in the wider EU.

The reasons for the French No are diffuse. There is no simple answer to the voters' revolt. Part is clearly a backlash against Mr Chirac from the left, combining frustration at the failure of his government to reduce unemployment, and a powerful anti-globalisation movement blaming international competition for France's plight. But that fear of competition has been confused with anxiety about the effect of EU enlargement, with France losing influence in a 25-member union and losing jobs to cheaper labour in the east. On the right, there is strong opposition to launching membership talks with Turkey later this year.