Macron Increases the Pressure for a Brexit Deal
France to Present Brexit Border Measures to Increase Pressure for a Deal
(Bloomberg) -- President Emmanuel Macron’s government is set to present a series of measures to keep French borders open and transport with the U.K. running as France vows to increase pressure for a Brexit accord.
French European Affairs Minister Nathalie Loiseau will present provisions to maintain physical links with the U.K. on Oct. 3 at the weekly cabinet meeting, government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux told reporters in Paris on Monday.
Macron wants to raise pressure on the U.K. to make progress in the negotiations so that an accord can be reached with European Union leaders at their October summit, according to one of the president’s aides. Macron believes that Brexit talks must not drag into November, according to the official, who asked not to be named in line with Elysee palace rules.
The president’s office denied a report that Macron had threatened not to attend a special summit on Brexit proposed for November. For Macron, it’s not a case of take it or leave it, but rather it’s about conveying that a lot of work must still be done, the official said.
Loiseau has previously said the government was working on measures to prepare for a deal or a no-deal scenario.
“The idea that a Eurostar train might not be able to reach the Gare du Nord station or that a British plane might not be able to land in a French airport, that’s what we want to avoid,” Loiseau said on France Info radio on Sept. 22.
France’s government will have a full bill debated in Parliament in November “to be ready for any scenario,” Loiseau said. Brexit “is not a spontaneous situation, and we must prepare for that,” she said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Helene Fouquet in Paris at hfouquet1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Crawford at acrawford6@bloomberg.net, Tony Czuczka
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