EU reaction: European Union officials reacted with dismay last night to exit polls suggesting a decisive No vote in the French referendum on the EU constitution. Some predicted that the French vote would push the EU into the biggest crisis in its history but leaders of the European Parliament's biggest political groups said it should not stop other countries having their say on the constitution.
Commission president José Manuel Barroso and Luxembourg's prime minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, whose country holds the EU presidency, were due to issue a statement late last night.
They were expected to call on other EU member states to carry on with the process of ratifying the constitution despite the French vote.
Nine of the EU's 25 member states have already ratified the constitution but France's No vote makes it unlikely that the treaty will come into force in its present form.
Mr Juncker will meet the other 24 EU leaders for individual talks in Luxembourg this week. The talks, which were due to focus on the EU's next seven-year budget, will now be dominated by the consequences of the French referendum.
The leaders are divided over the wisdom of proceeding with the process of ratification after yesterday's vote but few are expected to call for a halt before Wednesday's referendum in the Netherlands.
If the Dutch vote No, Britain, which takes over the EU presidency on July 1st, is expected to lead calls for the ratification process to stop.
Hans-Gert Poetttering, the leader of the centre-right European People's Party, the largest group of MEPs, described the French vote as regrettable but called on other countries to continue ratifying the constitution.
"There is an opportunity in every crisis. The European Union has managed already many crises and was almost always able to reach agreement in the end. We must hope now that a pragmatic management of the crisis will also lead to a solution in this case," he said.
Martin Schulz, leader of the Socialist group of MEPs, said that the French had voted against an opportunity to create a better Europe.
"The battle goes on. The ratification process must continue because all countries must have the opportunity to express their view.
"The French No is, of course, a blow to European integration and the strengthening of the European Union. The outcome in France is a setback," he said.