France has warned its business leaders to prepare for all potential Brexit scenarios including Britain crashing out of the EU with no deal, as Paris scrambles to plan for a new era of trade with its neighbour.
The meeting between junior finance minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher and members of trade federations comes after the French government unveiled draft legislation setting out preparations for a possible “no-deal” Brexit.
“It’s about really explaining to them that they must prepare at the same time for the United Kingdom becoming a third-party country, and the risk of there being no transition period after March 2019,” a ministry source said of the meeting.
Any transition period to smooth Britain’s exit “depends on an exit deal having been reached with the United Kingdom,” the source said — a deal that has eluded the EU and Britain so far, just months away from Britain’s scheduled departure on March 29, 2019.