Britain and France are heading for an almighty bust-up over Brexit. This morning the French junior minister for European affairs, Clément Beaune, specifically confirmed that if France was unhappy with the final Brexit deal — notably on fishing — it would use its veto. France would carry out ‘her own evaluation’ of the deal and act accordingly, he told radio Europe 1.
Whether there is a deal or not, a blame game is about to be unleashed. Given this late stage, if there is a deal then the French cannot possibly get all they want on fishing. The French Prime Minister said so yesterday to French fishermen at France’s largest fishing port, Boulogne. But that won’t stop President Macron raising merry hell and publicly blaming Britain’s intransigence. For centuries, such Brit-bashing has gone down well with the French public and Macron needs a distraction from his domestic strife of simultaneous health, security and political crises.
Whether there is a deal or not, a blame game is about to be unleashed
If there is no deal, the British Prime Minister — while not uncomfortable with that outcome — will lay the blame squarely on the French.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in