August 02, 2018
French president will be tough to win over but could influence other EU states to back UK plan
May prepares for talks with Macron that could make or break Brexit plan
Theresa May’s hopes of prising away Emmanuel Macron from the rest of the European Union to sign up to her Chequers vision for Brexit looked tenuous on the eve of the pair’s crunch talks.
But while senior Whitehall sources warned that the French president would be tough to win over, they suggested that if May were successful his influence could prove vital in swaying the rest of the EU27 member states.
The prime minister has cut short her summer break in Italy to try to convince Macron, who is seen by British officials as the biggest obstacle to her plans, to soften his approach to Brexit.
One Whitehall source claimed that France had so far been the most “disobliging” of the EU27 in multilateral discussions.
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, is viewed as unlikely to shift from his rigid approach to negotiations unless there is consensus among the most powerful EU states.
One cabinet source told the Guardian: “The French just say no to everything and by a mile are the most difficult ones, so if May can make progress with him that would have a disproportionately positive affect on negotiations.”
A second minister suggested Friday’s talks could be critical. “The reality is that France could be the great unblocker and can help get negotiations back on track,” the minister said. “A lot hangs on this meeting.”
The prime minister will become the first foreign leader to meet Macron at his official summer home, Fort de Brégançon, in the south of France. It will be the first time that she has spoken with him about Brexit since she struck her Chequers deal.
Although the French government has not entirely rejected the UK’s latest plan, they are understood to have deep misgivings and to have raised concerns about security cooperation, the Galileo space project and financial services in particular.
The UK has launched a diplomatic offensive, with the business secretary, Greg Clark, the foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, and the Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, all meeting their French counterparts in the last week. It is part of the strategy to go over the heads of the European commission and engage with national leaders directly.
Ministers believe the Germans are more open to softening the EU’s approach, with Angela Merkel understood to be prepared to give Barnier more freedom to do a deal after a constructive meeting with May last month. However, the German chancellor has her own domestic problems to focus on.
A senior Whitehall source said: “The Germans are actually quite clear that they want to do a deal. May’s discussions with Merkel have been constructive. The Dutch have also been helpful.
“It’s the French that regularly pour cold water on everything that the British want. There’s no other nation anywhere near as disobliging. So this meeting is very important.”
On Thursday, a spokesman for the French president said Macron had full trust in Barnier and supported his reserved response to the UK plan. He added: “[Friday’s meeting] is not a substitute for the negotiations led by Michel Barnier.”
But UK ministers believe that if Macron followed Merkel in softening his approach, then Barnier, who takes his instructions from the EU governments, could adopt a more flexible approach.
“If they say we’re all happy with Chequers and we can live with it, if there’s a consensus among France and Germany in particular, that might move him [Barnier],” said one cabinet source. “If there’s no consensus we won’t see any movement, even if individual countries are sounding positive.”
A No 10 spokesman denied the prime minister would attempt to persuade Macron to break from the shared EU position. “Its a point of view but it’s not one that we would subscribe to,” he said. However, multiple government sources suggested that was Britain’s strategy.
Lord Ricketts, who was the UK ambassador to France from 2012 to 2016, told the BBC he was pessimistic that Macron would want to break ranks, saying: “I don’t see why there is any chance of that. First of all, he does not believe in softening it. He is a passionate pro-European.
“Secondly, he is the last person to want to break ranks with what has been quite an impressively disciplined EU side. We have got to accept we have got to do the hard yards of negotiating in Brussels.”
Ricketts also said threatening no deal was unlikely to encourage European neighbours to drop their hardline stance. “The problem with it is these crafty foreigners also read our own media and they can see how little preparation has been done and how, in effect, it’s a bluff,” he said.
Bruno Bonnell, a member of Macron’s La République En Marche party, said France was prepared to take an economic blow to protect the EU’s single market and other institutions. “Love is gone. Hopefully we can restore it but it will take time. But now it’s time for power discussions,” he said.
However, one Whitehall source claimed EU nations were “waking up” to the prospect of no deal as the deadline crept closer and the risk it could create for their own economies, as well as the UK.
Related Stories
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Olivia Munn Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Double Mastectomy Procedure | E! News
March 13, 2024
kUaEV1Kd3S0
Travis Kelce Shares Details From His Trip to Singapore With Taylor Swift | E! News
March 13, 2024
3YXi-Dgf4eg
Kate Middleton VIRAL Photo: Agency Addresses Photoshop Claims | E! News
March 13, 2024
S4VkO0TpkCY
Da'Vine Joy Randolph Plays 'Smash or Pass' With Iconic Moments From Her Career
March 13, 2024
vkPdJEF2BX4
Jean Smart Wears a Hotel Bathrobe to Present an Award to Hannah Einbinder l Power of Comedy SxSW
March 12, 2024
Bw7uVEYQev4
Lenny Kravitz Walk of Fame Ceremony
March 12, 2024
MlWq8BcnwhE
Dak Prescott Extortion Plot & Steph Curry for President? | TMZ Sports Full Ep - 3/12/24
March 13, 2024
jHFsrjs7OFY
A Japanese space rocket blew up after takeoff Tuesday, turning the sky into a fireball of smoke.
March 13, 2024
YkfJ3Qg8B7c
#KimKardashian and #BiancaCensori hung out at #KanyeWest's listening party Tuesday night!
March 13, 2024
EfwLLq6bx9k
‘Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond denies using Ozempic to lose 60 pounds
March 13, 2024
Omfjk1AlZ3A
Chrissy Teigen reveals her ‘boob lift scars’ in daring dress at Jay-Z & Beyoncé’s Oscars 2024 party
March 13, 2024
VxZ2qXAlpmU
Zoë Kravitz pokes fun at dad Lenny Kravitz's style during Hollywood Walk of Fame speech
March 13, 2024
j3-lcFu_1sQ
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
SC Freiburg - Bayer Leverkusen
17
Mar
USA: Major League Soccer
Atlanta United - Orlando City
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
West Ham United - Aston Villa
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Rayo Vallecano - Real Betis
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Championship
Leeds - Millwall
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Las Palmas - Almeria
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Villarreal - Valencia
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Sevilla - Celta Vigo
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
11
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Chelsea - Newcastle United
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Liverpool - Manchester City
10
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Real Madrid - Celta Vigo
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Aston Villa - Tottenham Hotspur
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Atalanta
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Fiorentina - Roma
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
AC Milan - Empoli
09
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Werder Bremen - Borussia Dortmund
09
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Arsenal - Brentford
09
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Bologna - Inter Milan
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.