French government says no-deal Brexit would be better than Theresa May's Chequers plan

‘No deal is a better than a bad deal,’ country’s European minister tells Theresa May

The French government has said it would prefer a no-deal Brexit to accepting Theresa May’s Chequers plan – dramatically raising the rhetorical stakes in negotiations.

The statement by the country’s Europe minister Nathalie Loiseau comes as its government moves to hire 700 extra customs officers in preparation for a no-deal Brexit – effectively putting its money where its mouth is.

“No deal would be better than a bad deal,” Ms Loiseau told Radio Classique, referring to the prime minister’s Chequers plan, which the EU has already rejected as unworkable.

“A good deal is still possible, but time is running out.”

The minister’s comments echo Theresa May’s own mantra that “no deal is better than a bad deal”.

In fact, the British government has itself said it would only accept Chequers or a no-deal Brexit – meaning that a no-deal scenario is now inevitable if both arguments are to be taken at face value.

There are still hopes that a compromise agreement could be reached in the remaining few weeks of talks, however, with movement expected from both sides on the crucial Irish border issue before this month’s “moment of truth” European Council summit in Brussels.

No deal would be better than a bad deal

Natalie Loiseau, French European affairs minister

Despite the possibility of a breakthrough, the French government is taking no chances and is assuming wide-ranging emergency power to act by decree in order to prepare the country for a possible no-deal Brexit.

Ms Loiseau put forward a bill on Wednesday that would give the country the power to maintain border controls with Britain, keep cross-channel trains running and give French subsidiaries of British companies the right to operate.

The bill also unilaterally guarantees the rights of British citizens living in France, who would otherwise immediately become illegal migrants in the event of a no-deal Brexit when their EU citizenship is revoked on 29 March 2019.

Other EU countries that do a lot of trade with Britain have also made similar preparations. The Netherlands is in the process of hiring nearly 1,000 customs officers for its hub airport at Schiphol and major port at Rotterdam.

By contrast, the British government was unable to say how many customs officers it had on its payroll when contacted by The Independent earlier this year.

Proposals for a new lorry holding area near Dover have been beset by delays and the government is instead planning to turn the motorway into a giant lorry park to compensate, if needed.