No chance EU will grant another Brexit delay ‘as things stand’, France says

Rebel MP’s attempts at delaying Brexit won’t work in the current conditions, according to the French foreign minister.

Jean-Yves Le Drian said the Brexit deadline of 31 October will not be extended by the European Union, despite opposition MPs passing a law to postpone Brexit if no deal has been struck.

In an interview with radio station Europe 1, he said: ‘It’s very worrying. The British must tell us what they want.’

He added: ‘We are not going to do (extend) this every three months.’

Boris Johnson today accused MPs of ‘trying to wreck’ Brexit by rushing the new law through Parliament to block a no-deal exit from the European Union.

It would force the PM to ask Brussels for a three-month extension to the deadline if no deal is in place by 19 October.

EU chiefs have previously suggested they would be willing to delay Brexit in order to give the UK time to hold a general election or a second referendum to break the impasse.

But the French have been staunch opponents of delaying Brexit. President Macron outlined his opposition to a long term extension earlier in the year.

And former French ambassador Pierre Sallal told the BBC earlier this week he thinks trust has broken down between the UK and the European Union.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4, he said: ‘Maybe what is missing today is this trust about the way your country sees its future with the European Union.

‘In this regard, I believe that the situation has been deteriorating. It is very difficult to have the necessary trust that could justify a new examination of a new date.’

Emmanuel Macron is considered to be the most hardline leader in the EU. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she is prepared to grant the EU more time.