A French business chief today warned that the British must not be allowed to “have their cake and eat it” with Brexit.
Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, president of business group Medef, stressed the UK could not quit the EU and retain all the advantages of being in it.
His warning came before Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay was due to address Medef’s summer conference in Paris.
With the threat of a no-deal scenario looming, Mr Roux de Bézieux told business chiefs at the event: “We can’t let the English have their cake and eat it. We can’t let Britain be outside the EU and have all the advantages of being in it.”
Medef, the Movement of French Businesses, has continually expressed its concerns about Brexit, saying it will cause problems between trading partners that are just over 20 miles apart.
During a visit to London in February, Mr Roux de Bézieux said French companies in the UK were tired of the “uncertainty” surrounding Brexit.
In a more recent statement, Medef warned of “an endless Brexit that would continue in a grey area” as the UK tried to redefine its relationship with the EU.
Medef was a firm backer of the deals negotiated by former prime minister Theresa May with the EU — ones which were continually thwarted by the British parliament.
