PARIS - French voters Sunday rejected the EU constitution in a historic referendum, a dissident faction of France's Socialist party said in a statement released shortly before polls were to close at 10:00 pm (2000 GMT).
With official results not to be released until polls close, the minority New Socialist Party (NPS) group, which had opposed the treaty, jumped the gun by welcoming its rejection.
"France has emphatically not turned its back on Europe. This is not a 'no' of withdrawal or defiance. It is a 'no' to European policies which go against the interests of Europeans themselves," the faction said in a statement.
"Above all it is a message of support for a powerful Europe ... it carries with it the willingness to renegotiate. Citizens are asking the people who govern Europe to rewrite the constitution," it said.
05/29/2005 19:56 GMT