20/12/2007 (Agence Europe) - France is preparing to amend Article 88-5 of its constitution which has, since 2005, required a referendum to be held on the ratification of any further accession to the EU after that of Croatia (expected in 2010). According to the constitutional reform bill, the French president will, in future, have the choice of putting the ratification decision to a referendum or to parliament, where there would have to be a three fifths majority in favour. The compulsory referendum clause was included in the constitution to reassure the French people that they would be able to have their say on the future accession of Turkey. At a hearing of the Balladur commission on the reform of the institutions in September, Secretary of State for European Affairs Jean-Pierre Jouyet had suggested that the compulsory referendum might be ditched. According to AFP, the bill has the support of President Nicolas Sarkozy, even though he remains opposed to Turkey's accession to the EU. (H.B.)