SELDOM does a French president come down from his cloud to mingle with the people. Jacques Chirac may regret having done so last week.

His entry into the “yes” campaign for the referendum on the European Union constitution was meant to have been a triumphant affair, a demonstration of his legendary powers of persuasion.

Instead, it has backfired. Two polls published yesterday after Chirac’s television encounter with 83 young adults gave the “no” vote a 12-point lead, the highest level yet recorded.

In both surveys — for Paris-Match magazine and Le Parisien — 56% of respondents pledged to vote against the constitution and only 44% in favour.

The results intensified talk of la fin du régime and of how out of touch the president is with his people.

They also emphasised how irreverent the French have become since their forelock-tugging days under François Mitterrand, the late Socialist leader, who was secretly pleased about being referred to by his subordinates as “dieu”.

A rambling, repetitive Chirac faced the indignity on Thursday night of being repeatedly interrupted, not just by the cheeky young television presenters but also by the carefully vetted members of the audience.

At one point Chirac was asked whether he would resign if the vote went against him, as Charles de Gaulle did in 1969 when he lost a referendum on the organisation of the regions.

Chirac tried to put a brave face on such lese-majesty and managed a smile. He will nevertheless be disappointed, as will Claude Chirac, his daughter and chief image consultant who choreographed the show, to see how little effect he has had on the referendum battle.

Fifteen consecutive polls have now shown that a majority of the public intends to vote against the constitution on May 29. This would effectively kill it off since the rules state all 25 EU members must ratify it.

So far five countries, including Spain and Italy, have approved the constitution, which calls for a European foreign minister, an independent defence capability and curbs on each country’s right to veto initiatives from Brussels.

Once nicknamed “le bulldozer” because of his ability to plough through political obstacles, Chirac, 72, has run into a brick wall over growing French Euroscepticism. His warnings that a French “no” would “halt European construction” and seriously weaken France made no difference.

He tried reminding his audience that a weaker France might not be able to defend the £7 billion that it receives each year in EU agricultural subsidies. The audience seemed to be more concerned about the threat posed to France by Anglo-Saxon economic “liberalism”.

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