Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Politics Explained

Could France actually leave the European Union?

Friday 16 April 2021 23:31 BST
Comments
<p>Emmanuel Macron: have the French learnt any lessons from Brexit?</p>

Emmanuel Macron: have the French learnt any lessons from Brexit?

The European Union’s former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has reignited talk of “Frexit” with comments interpreted by Eurosceptics as a warning that France could still follow suit in exiting the bloc.

As incumbent president Emmanuel Macron trails in the polls to Marine Le Pen – who is no friend to the EU – ahead of next year’s elections, Mr Barnier said: “We could draw some lessons from Brexit for ourselves. It’s now too late for the UK but not for us.”

Fresh from the coalface of negotiations over a post-Brexit trade deal, Mr Barnier insisted last month that he was ready to run for president in 2022, and appears to be staking a claim to be the superior pro-European candidate on the centre-right – having announced the creation of a “Patriot and European” faction within the struggling Les Républicains party in February , as it seeks a candidate capable of challenging within the current two-horse race led by Mr Macron and Ms Le Pen.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in