European Union leaders are braced for months of deadlock and acrimony following a resounding French vote against the bloc's first-ever constitution on May 29. Thanks to an earlier charter agreed in Nice in 2000, the massive "non" vote in France will not bring the EU's well-oiled institutional machine to an immediate halt. It does, however, strike a powerful blow to the 25-nation bloc's rising political confidence, economic reform efforts and plans for further expansion. It also confronts leaders with difficult questions on the EU's role and identity in the wider world. While French politicians squabble over the national fallout from the vote, EU policymakers fear the wider repercussions of the change of mood in a country traditionally noted for its Europhile views. French politicians have spearheaded the EU integration process throughout the last five decades, working in tandem with Germany to build a strong core of key EU policies, including the introduction of the euro and a common foreign and security policy.