Both sides in France's debate on the European Union constitution stepped up campaigning on Saturday as the sixth successive poll in a week showed a slim majority for the "No" camp ahead of a May 29 referendum. With the vote expected to be a cliffhanger, Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin urged French voters not to be timid or to turn their backs on Europe. "Have confidence in France's strength. Let's not let ourselves be wrapped up in selfishness and individualism," he told a pro-constitution rally just outside Paris. Opponents of the treaty, led by prominent left-wingers, staged another large rally in the centre of the capital. A poll by the Ifop institute, to be published on Sunday, showed 52 percent of people who have decided how to vote oppose the treaty, which aims to make decision-making easier following the EU's enlargement to 25 members last year. President Jacques Chirac, whose rating was down five points to 40 percent in the poll, has said he will not quit if voters reject the treaty, but the future of Raffarin, whose rating was down at 24 percent, is in doubt. --more 2150 Local Time 1850 GMT
