Germany sees French result as 'setback' but vows treaty not dead

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said the French rejection of the EU constitution on Sunday was "a setback" but insisted it did not spell the end of the road for the treaty.

Schroeder also promised that the Franco-German axis -- often referred to as the driving force of the European project -- would not falter as a result of the overwhelming French defeat for the constitution which Germany has already ratified, albeit without a referendum.

"I greatly regret the outcome of the referendum in France, but at the same time we must respect this vote," Schroeder said.

"The outcome of the referendum is a setback for the process of ratifying the constitution, but not its end.

"It is also not the end of the Franco-German partnership in and for Europe.

"This is an opinion shared by French President Jacques Chirac, whom I have already spoken to on the telephone."

Schroeder said the remaining 15 countries of the European Union who had yet to ratify the treaty should continue with the process, despite the rejection from one of its founding members.

Germany last Friday became the ninth country to ratify the constitution when the Bundesrat, or upper house of parliament, overwhelmingly approved the treaty.

The lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, had earlier passed the constitution with a huge majority.

Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, who like Schroeder has staunchly defended the constitution, said the outcome in France presented Europe with "great challenges".

"A majority of the French people have decided against the EU constitution.

"That is regrettable and will present Europe with great challenges," Fischer said.

He said the German government had hoped the French people would vote in favour of the constitution "because it is a good treaty".

Leading members of the conservative opposition parties also expressed regret at the outcome in France.

Guido Westerwelle, the leader of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), said: "This is a setback for Germany's aim to promote the unification of Europe."

Christian Wulff, the Christian Democrat leader of the state of Lower Saxony, expressed "great disappointment" at the news that around 56 percent of the French had rejected the treaty.

German politicians and analysts expressed concerns ahead of the referendum about the impact of a "no" vote on the relationship between France and Germany.

Anne-Marie Le Gloannec, a Berlin-based analyst for the International Research Centre for Political Science (CERIS), told AFP on Sunday that the result in France "will be a blow to Schroeder who had visited France on a number of occasion to campaign for a "yes" vote."

The constitution is designed to set out a new framework for an enlarged EU.

All 25 member states must approve the text before it can take effect.