Macron Talks Second Referendum, Says Brexit Should be Blocked ‘For Sure’

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LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP/Getty
Liam Deacon

Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU) should be stopped “for sure”, French President Macron has said, claiming Brexit has turned out to be more complicated than Leavers anticipated.

The pan-European bloc would welcome a reversal of the of the largest democratic vote in British history, the French leader said, after Brussels bosses have repeatedly insisted the UK will be harmed and claimed the UK cannot secure a trade deal because of the issue of the Irish border.

Speaking at a climate change meeting in New York, Mr Macron was asked whether the bloc would “have the UK back” if it changed its mind about Brexit. “For sure,” he told Bloomberg.

However, he added: “I’m not the one to decide such a move and I do respect the choice of British voters. So I don’t want to interfere in this debate about a second referendum and so on.”

Asked if blocking Brexit would mean Paris giving up its push to attract bankers from the City of London, he said: “This is about history, not about domestic interests… I did regret this vote for the rest of Europe and for our very special relationship.”

The President also doubled down on his claims from an EU summit last week that pro-Brexit politicians told “lies” during the 2016 referendum campaign. “It costs a lot, it’s much more complicated than they initially thought,” he said.

The UK’s Brexit minister hit back earlier this week, saying: “I think that’s not the kind of language of either statesmanship or friendship, particularly at a summit.”

He continued: “If someone wants to point out something that I’ve said which is a lie, feel free to do so but I don’t accept that.”

He also argued that the bloc has a “has a habit of spurning democratic votes” and claimed the EU’s leader are is fuelling the populist spring across the continent but ignoring public opinion.

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