France’s Macron demands Britain pay £39billion Brexit divorce bill even if Boris takes us out without a deal
FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron has demanded that Britain pay the EU £39billion in a divorce bill - even in a No Deal Brexit.
A French official in Mr Macron's office said today that they think a No Deal Brexit is now the most likely outcome.
"The scenario that is now becoming the most likely is the No Deal scenario," they said today as Boris flew into Germany for talks with Angela Merkel.
"If the United Kingdom considers that having a backstop is absolutely excluded, that is its right, but in that case it limits the possibility of reaching an agreement."
Stubborn EU bosses say they can't possibly re-open the withdrawal agreement to rip out the hated backstop - putting Britain on course for leaving without a deal.
But if Britain did want to hold an election, France would probably let us have a third Brexit extension, they said.
And their position won't change under pressure from President Trump, they added.
Last night the US leader heaped on pressure to the bloc, saying they hadn't treated Britain well in Brexit talks.
He also hailed Boris as a fantastic leader and the right person to be in charge of Britain.
The official said that they were on the same page as Germany too.
"Have no doubt that the French and German positions -- and elsewhere -- are the same. There's not the thickness of a cigarette paper between us," the French official said.
But lawyers have said we don't legally owe the EU a penny.
Peter Bone this morning: "I’m very unhappy about giving away £39billion of taxpayers’ money when we don’t owe the EU a penny."
Theresa May insisted as PM we would pay off any debts we have to the bloc before we go, including coughing up for any projects we vowed to fund.
As we've stayed in the EU for longer than expected, the £39billion divorce bill has effectively been reduced.
Boris will meet Mr Macron for talks in Paris tomorrow, which are sure to be frosty.
He's vowed to be firm with EU bosses and insist that they must throw out the backstop if they have any hope of getting a deal done before October 31.
And the new PM will hold meetings with other EU leaders at his first event on the world stage this weekend at the weekend.
The French leader said we were heading for a No Deal exit back in March after MPs repeatedly voted down the withdrawal deal.
But he was proved wrong as the bloc offered Britain two extensions to try and sort it out.
He isn't keen on the idea of offering Britain a third one unless there's a clear purpose to it - such as an election or another referendum.
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