EUROPE ON THE ROAD TO UNITY : Europe Sighs With Relief Over Vote : Reaction: Leaders renew push for unity. They realize narrow victory in France mandates caution.

ROME —  Thank you, France.

Victory may have been narrow, but, mon dieu , was it welcome among European governments wed to a 40-year-old dream of continental unity.

Across Europe on Sunday night, there were many decision-makers like Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato, who was glued to a television set in his office at the Palazzo Chigi in empty downtown Rome. All dressed up with plenty to say. Waiting for word from Paris.

Exit poll projections were enough. It took Amato exactly 14 minutes after the French polls closed--before a single vote was officially reported--to laud French sagacity on Italian national television.

“I heaved a sigh of relief,” Amato said. There are many obstacles to overcome in building Europe, he said, “but had we not overcome today’s obstacle, if the French electorate had not voted ‘yes,’ the work of 40 years would have collapsed, most probably with irreparable damage.”

Amato, whose hopes for a re-stablized lira hinged on the outcome, sounded a theme replayed with variations from government ministries in a dozen nations where lights burned deep through an uncertain autumn weekend.

There were shouts of victory: “The European train can now roll forward,” said German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel, calling the result “a very decisive step forward for Europe.”

There were calls for revived decisiveness: “After a sigh of relief for the French ‘yes,’ we must now better coordinate European policies to lower interest rates,” said Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Solchaga.

There were cautionary tales: “This is just one game, not the championship,” said Italian commentator Arrigo Levi.

The run-up to the French vote was marked by a week of currency turmoil as Italy and Britain withdrew from the European Monetary System, Spain devalued and a number of other currencies came under pressure because of high interest rates in Germany.

The currency muddle, which will likely ease today as markets reflect on the French vote, created strains between some European Community members--particularly Britain--and Germany. But it did not lessen support for French President Francois Mitterrand from German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, a key architect of the Maastricht Treaty.

“The positive result of the French referendum, even if it was narrow, will give the European integration process a new impetus in the remaining member states of the community,” Kohl said in a statement. “In the current European and world political phase, we need more than ever a strong, unified Europe.”

Spanish Foreign Minister Javier Solana Madariaga echoed the German view of the vote’s impact: “For Spain, it’s a great satisfaction that’s going to enable all of us--Spaniards and Europeans in general--to continue with the process of European union,” he said.

In the aftermath, what matters most, Kohl said, “is to set the treaty on European unity into motion as foreseen.” Kohl said he is confident that the German Parliament will complete the ratification process by the end of the year.

In apparent response to European fears of an overly powerful Germany, Kohl stressed the country’s adherence to its constitutional pledge “to serve world peace in a united Europe.”

“European unity remains for us unchanged: the foundation for a future in peace, freedom and prosperity,” he said.

In London, where Kohl and the German mark win no popularity contests, British leaders generally welcomed the French result but called attention to the problems ahead. Prime Minister John Major told reporters he “congratulated” Mitterrand on the outcome.

“We now need to consider the way forward,” the British leader said.

Opposition Labor Party leader John Smith emphasized that “we still have a problem created by the Danish ‘no,’ ” referring to Denmark’s vote in June narrowly rejecting the treaty.

In his brief remarks, Major raised the “Danish problem” as the No. 1 consideration about how to proceed with the Maastricht accord. Major, who holds the revolving presidency of the EC until year’s end, announced Sunday that he will call a special EC summit meeting in October.

At European Community headquarters in Brussels, leaders reacted with relief--and chagrin--at what they interpreted as a near vote of no-confidence. As if with one voice, they promised to listen more closely to the people.

“I feel relief, but no exultation,” said Leon Brittan, the EC commissioner responsible for competition (antitrust) policy. “We still have a considerable amount of work to do to explain the benefits of the treaty. The commission has been too removed and too interventionist.”

Times staff writers Tamara Jones in Bonn, William Tuohy in London and Joel Havemann in Brussels and Bonn bureau researcher Ulrich Seibert contributed to this report.