It would be nice to believe that the French non vote on the bloated European Union Constitution was a reaction against its highly intrusive nature, the way it tries to micro-manage every aspect of life in Europe like a dynasty of nit-picking clerks.

But it’s questionable how many French voters even read the darned thing; in truth this was a victory for those who want the nanny state to keep providing those leisurely six-week vacations: French business fears ‘heavy consequences’ from upset.

The Left-wing flavour of France’s revolt against the EU constitution on Sunday could prove a major headache for business, bringing free-market reform to a halt and forcing Brussels to adopt a more protectionist “Gallic” stance in economic policy.

Plans to privatise France’s electricity and gas monopolies this year may be the first casualty as President Jacques Chirac’s crippled government weighs up the risk of a second major showdown with the French trade unions.

“We can’t introduce reforms and deep changes in France against the will of the French people,” said Thierry Breton, the finance minister.

He warned that the upset would deter investors at a time when the French economy was already struggling to cope with a sharp downturn and unemployment was rising back above 10 per cent. “We’ll have to make twice as much effort. I’ll be running 100 metres carrying a 20-kilo bag,” he said.

The Eurocrat elite was demonised during the French campaign, with the worst abuse reserved for the former Dutch single market chief, Frits Bolkestein, who was accused of trying to drive French wages down to Polish levels. The ”Bolkestein“ plan to open up the EU to genuine competition in services now looks a lost cause. Mr Chirac said it was ”dead”.