Emmanuel Macron has said Brexit has “impoverished the UK” and done “nothing to solve immigration”, as he called on Europeans to keep nationalists out ahead of next month’s crucial election.
The French president also warned that all European nationalists are ‘hidden Brexiteers’ who want to see the downfall of Europe but continue to reap the benefits.
‘I say to the Europeans: wake up. Waking! They are hidden Brexiteers. All European nationalists are hidden Brexiteers. It’s all the same lies,” he said in an interview with The economist.
Macron gave the example of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) party, which is now leading in opinion polls for the European election, ahead of his own centrist alliance.
He said that while the RN, whose president is 28-year-old rabble-rouser Jordan Bardella, previously “wanted to withdraw from Europe, from the euro, from everything”, it now “no longer says anything”.
Emmanuel Macron has said Brexit has “impoverished the UK” and “did nothing to solve immigration”, as he called on Europeans to keep nationalists out.
French far-right party Rassemblement National (RN), MP Marine Le Pen (L), and party chairman Jordan Bardella
Nationalist parties are advancing in the polls across Europe, including Belgium’s Vlaams Belang (Vlaams Belang) and Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPO).
The FPO, whose slogans include ‘stop the EU madness’, currently polls 30 percent ahead of the Austrians who go to the polls on June 9.
Yesterday, former presidential candidate Le Pen urged voters to impose “the most crushing electoral sanction” on Macron’s Renaissance Party in elections next month.
In comments published today, Macron hit back at his arch-rival, saying: “Make no mistake. If you entrust the keys to people who think like that, there is no reason why Europe should become a great power.
‘In a way, it’s like saying it’s no problem if we entrust the bank to robbers. When they sit around the table, they hold Europe hostage.’
“It is reaping the benefits of Europe while it wants to destroy it without saying anything,” he said. ‘And that applies in every country.’
He noted that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose Brothers of Italy party has neo-fascist roots, had “a European approach” and had “supported the asylum and immigration pact.”
But “after that, the best way to build together is to have as few nationalists as possible,” he added.
France and Britain struck a deal last year to end migrant crossings of the Channel, with Rishi Sunak agreeing that Britain would pay Paris almost half a billion pounds over the next three years
Macron previously warned that “Europe could die” and said the continent must forge closer defense ties with Britain amid Russian aggression in Ukraine.
His comments on Britain’s economic state after Brexit come after UN data last month showed Britain was the world’s fourth largest exporter – ahead of France.
But the impact of Brexit on the cost of living is still being felt, retailers warned this week, as Brits face higher grocery bills as new border controls come into effect.
Meat, dairy, plants and seeds are just some of the products that will now be subject to physical checks when imported.
Businesses have warned that the new controls are likely to hit small businesses hardest and lead to price rises for customers.
The government says the measures will boost the country’s biosecurity and that the additional costs will be “negligible” compared to a major disease outbreak.
On the migration front, France and Britain signed an agreement last year to end cross-Channel crossings for migrants. Rishi Sunak agreed that Britain would pay Paris almost half a billion pounds over the next three years.
Channel crossings had already reached a new record in the first four months of the year
About 711 people were detected crossing the English Channel on Wednesday, the highest number in a single day so far this year, according to preliminary Home Office figures.
The number of canal crossings had already reached a new record in the first four months of a calendar year: an increase of 34 percent compared to 2023, when 6,192 were recorded, and a 19% increase compared to the total at this stage in 2022 (6,945).
Last year, 29,437 migrants arrived in Britain, a fall of 36 percent from the record 45,774 arrivals in 2022.