Tony Blair insisted yesterday that the new EU constitution would be "good for Britain" and that it was time for "a major debate on Europe".

Answering questions from 400 French and British students in Paris alongside his host, Jacques Chirac, the prime minister said it was time to "flush out the arguments".

He added: "Do we want to be one of the key players in Europe, or on the sidelines? We're not asking people to choose Europe over Britain, just to recognise that it's in our national interest to be part of Europe."