Theresa May appears to have slim hopes of achieving a Brexit breakthrough when she meets Emmanuel Macron at an island fortress off the French Mediterranean coast this evening.
The two leaders will hold talks at the president’s summer retreat – a location with links dating back to Napoleon Bonaparte – as the UK desperately tries to rescue its spurned Chequers proposals.
Ms May is expected to issue a “Chequers deal or no deal” message, insisting she cannot and will not compromise further on the package thrashed out in June, which sparked two cabinet resignations – making crashing out without an agreement, with damage on all sides, the only alternative.
London believes Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, is willing to be flexible and views Mr Macron as the next – and probably toughest – nut to crack.
But the Elysee Palace has already ruled out Mr Macron breaking ranks to help the UK, insisting the meeting was “not a negotiation” and “not a substitute for the negotiations”, which are led by Brussels.
The spokesperson said the president had full trust in the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, adding: “That’s how it will remain.”
On Thursday, Mr Barnier insisted the EU would not soften its opposition to Chequers, warning those plans would “undermine our single market which is one of the EU’s biggest achievements”.
After the hastily arranged talks, Ms May and her husband Philip will join the president and his wife Brigitte for a private dinner.
The two leaders are expected to make introductory remarks around 6pm, but there will be no press conference afterwards at which she would be questioned on any progress made.
The setting of Fort de Bregancon should be idyllic, perched 35 metres above sea level on a small island and with a history stretching back centuries.
According to the president’s official website, Napoleon made it his mission to improve the fort shortly after taking nearby Toulon during the French Revolution in 1793.
By the 1960s, the fort had again fallen into disrepair – but was resurrected and restored to its former glory by a former French senator.
However, Ms May will meet Mr Macron with the stark warning of the Bank of England governor about the consequences of a no-deal Brexit ringing in her ears.
In a startling interview earlier today, Mark Carney warned that – far from allowing Britain to “thrive”, as ministers claim – it would mean higher prices and “disruption to trade as we know it”.
He also urged the prime minister and other governments to “do all things to avoid it” – while warning the chances were “uncomfortably high”.
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