FRENCH REVENGE: President Hollande blasts ‘Brexit will be PAINFUL for the British’
FRENCH president Francois Hollande has said that Brexit will be “painful for the British and for France it will be painfully sentimentally”.
Hollande has spoken out over May triggering Article 50
Today Prime Minister Theresa May began the formal process of leaving the European Union by triggering Article 50.
Speaking from a trip in Indonesia, President Hollande said: “We have for Great Britain an unlimited affection.
“It is not our intention to punish them.
“But when a country is no longer in the EU, they will no longer have the advantages of the EU.”
Front National MP Marion Le Pen tweeted that the British people would find their freedom again following the triggering of Article 50.
But when a country is no longer in the EU, they will no longer have the advantages of the EU
French centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron said: “It’s bad news for everybody. It’s a wedge pushed into the European project.”
The French publication Liberation published a front page saying they miss the UK already.
Next month France will have its general election with leader of the Front National Marine Le Pen vowing to hold an EU referendum if she wins.
President Hollande said that Brexit will feature in campaign debates.
Marine Le Pen hopes to hold an EU referendum in France
Le Pen blasts presence of Hollande in French elections
Mrs May said in parliament: “This is an historic moment from which there can be no turning back."
Today’s triggering will mean that there is now two years of negotiations between the UK and the EU.