The text at hand originally appeared in The Sunday Times and contains some participles. Try and find them.
Secret polls reveal French 'non' vote
The treaty of Maastricht appeared in imminent danger of defeat yesterday as some surveys
showed the French moving more firmly towards rejecting the agreement at next Sunday's
referendum. Secret polls by the government showed a sharp decline in the 'yes' vote, with some results giving a
victory to the anti-Maastricht lobby.
Conducted by the police Renseignements Generaux on behalf of the Interior Ministry, these
private polls were said by a government source to show the 'no'-lobby taking the lead for the first
time since President Francois Mitterand rallied support in a televised debate 10 days ago. The
police have a reputation for highly-accurate polling in volatile situations.
There are also unconfirmed reports that finance houses, which have conducted private polls, are suppressing
results which give a majority against the treaty.
Yesterday, the newspaper Liberation published a poll which showed the country evenly divided, the culmination of
a week in which support for Maastricht has slipped from an 18-point lead. It also revealed a large section of people
still undecided, with the government increasingly alarmed they were moving into the 'no' camp.
A poll published in Journal du Dimanche today, the last time the media can report polling before the referendum,
shows 53% in favour of Maastricht, another drop on last weekend's results.
....
|