BEIJING, May 30 -- The euro softened against the US dollar in early trading shortly after French voters massively rejected the first EU constitution in a referendum£¬throwing doubts over the political future of the bloc.

    The euro fell just over half a cent in early trading in Asia to 1.2516/19, down from 1.2573 in New York on Friday, after news of the preliminary French referendum results emerged.

    "The euro will be without doubt the hardest hit. The percentage is really significant. The clear lead for the "No" could push the euro down to $1.25-$1.24 early tomorrow and this could be more than a short-lived impact," said Chloe Magnier, economist at French broker CM-CIC Securities.

    French voters rejected the European Union constitution with a 56 percent score for the "No" camp in a referendum on Sunday, according to partial results released by the Interior Ministry.

    While the outcome was not expected to jeapordize the monetary union underpinning the euro zone's single currency or the European Central bank, analysts said it does raise questions about the public support behind the EU.

    Some analysts said the French "Non" to the EU has thrown the euro zone into a political crisis that will weigh on the euro and regional financial markets.

    "Euro zone financial markets are going to feel a chill wind right across the board. Euro zone stocks and bonds are not going to be spared," said David Brown, chief European economist at Bear Stearns in London.

    "This is going to damage sentiment for the euro, which will probably break down through $1.25 now. I think it could be a three to five month problem, but it's not a one to five year issue for markets," said Kit Juckes, strategist at RBS Financial Markets in London.

    The euro slipped about 0.2 percent against the Swiss franc to 1.5450 and was down slightly against the pound at around 68.70.

    Against the yen, the single European currency fell to lows around 135.20 yen from 135.65.

    (Agencies)