President passes screen test

FRANCOIS MITTERRAND'S intervention in the French referendum campaign gained some advantage for the 'yes'

campaign. Though most analysts said yesterday they expected that the effect would be small, the President's appearance live on television on Thursday night was deemed broadly successful.

The French press gave Mr Mitterrand a generally favourable, if grudging, review. It was the main story in all the French newspapers, filling several pages in most. It is, however, highly unlikely that many people read much of it. A sense of irritation and boredom with the whole issue has set in. Maastricht has dominated the media for the past two weeks, and the French still have two weeks before they vote on European union on 20 September. In theory, the campaign has yet to start - it is scheduled to open on Monday. But in practice, all of the key figures have already committed themselves and the battlelines are drawn.

French financial markets had recovered some of their value during the week, as opinion polls suggested that the 'yes' campaign had recovered a few points earlier in the week. But they took some cheer from Mr Mitterrand's performance. 'The President, for the first time, added to the 'yes' campaign a positive element,' said Bernard Godemont, an economist at Nomura research institute in Paris. 'Up to now it has been a deeply negative campaign.'

Mr Mitterrand has so far been a negative asset for those who support the Maastricht treaty. Much of the right-wing press saw the event as another opportunity to lay into the President, criticising his decision to become involved in the campaign at all. 'Maastricht sticks to Mitterrand so closely that it is impossible for voters to attack one without cruelly damaging the other,' wrote France-Soir.

Many had their doubts about how far Mr Mitterrand's performance would persuade the unpersuaded. His appearance was carefully stage-managed, so that by the time he was forced to debate with Phillipe Seguin, his chief adversary, most people will have turned off. The members of the public against whom he debated seemed to have been carefully selected. Those who were against Maastricht attacked it in very emotional terms, and failed to put over points that could have dented the President's armour. Some cynical observers thought the event had been rigged in the President's favour.

But considering the possible downside risk, the President seemed to have got off lightly and to have impressed some people. 'The best thing was that he said nothing damaging,' said one diplomat.

It remains to be seen whether the 'yes' campaign can press home its slim advantage. After two weeks of often frantic activity, it has only managed to reverse the trend towards a 'no' vote, and to pull itself back above 50 per cent of declared voters. Some British diplomats fear that a range of unexpected events - similar to the recent scandal over illegal imports of German medical waste - could reverse the trend again.

Continuing nerves over French opinion have started to bring out back-biting and criticism. Jacques Delors, the President of the European Commission, yesterday attacked the government's decision to distribute copies of the treaty to the French people. He has visibly started to lose his cool, attacking the 'no' campaigners last weekend and suggesting that they should resign.

An opinion poll conducted yesterday put support for the treaty at 55 per cent, with 45 per cent against, the CSA polling institute said. CSA's previous poll for the Parisien Libere on 28 August had put the 'no' vote at 53 per cent, with 47 per cent in favour.

The 'no' campaign is also entering a difficult phase. It must consolidate its hold on the voters it has won and persuade the large minority who have not yet made up their minds.

Some politicians were highly critical of Mr Seguin's performance - the price that he paid for being the figure chosen to represent them against the President. 'Faced with the President of the Republic, the champion of the 'no' vote failed his exam,' wrote the right-wing newspaper Le Quotidien de Paris.