MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

France does not rule out a post Brexit no deal with UK, “but those who need it most are the British”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson told visiting French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday that talks on a post-Brexit deal cannot drag on into the autumn.

A senior French official said she could not rule out the European Union's trade talks with departed ex-member Britain ending without a deal though it was in the British interest to reach one.

“I am not ruling out anything,” Junior European Affairs Minister Amelie de Montchalin told Europe 1 radio, when asked if she could rule out a no-deal Brexit.

“Those who need a deal the most are the British. They cannot withstand a second shock after the epidemic. They wouldn't have access to the security net that is Europe, they wouldn't have access to the stimulus fund,” she added, alluding to the economic hit to European states caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told visiting French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday that talks on a post-Brexit deal cannot drag on into the autumn.

Montchalin said: “We will not yield to this deadline pressure, this final sprint that Britain want to impose on us in the hope we will cave in. We do not want a deal for the sake of having a deal but we want a balanced deal.”

Britain left the European Union on Jan 31 but talks on a future relations have so far made little progress. Johnson and EU leaders say a deal is achievable, but both sides say time is running out and the prospect of no-deal remains.