Emmanuel Macron will desperately need Britain on his side as a political ally in the run-up to the European Parliament elections next May, amid fears among Brussels establishment that anti-EU forces could take over the bloc’s institutions.
Emmanuel Macron is terrified of an alliance of EU populists, nationalists and eurosceptics taking over the European Parliament next spring.
The Europhile French President believes the potential power shift would torpedo his plans for further European Union integration, according to French journalist Agnes Poirer.
Mr Macron “needs Britain” as an ally in the run up to the vote, amid fears that a no deal Brexit could push the British Government into his European opposition.
The French leader views the vote, which takes place in May 2019, as a battle between populists and progressives.
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The election, which is scheduled just two months after Britain officially leaves the EU, could determine the fate of Mr Macron’s long-standing European ambitions.
Poirer, who reports for the French magazine Marianne, claims that this fear will push the French president in offering Britain a good Brexit trade deal.
She told the BBC’s Dateline: “There is a slight change of mood, and that has happened over the last few weeks.
“I am going to give the European view here. It has been very tempting for the last two years to let Britain sink, or drift into oblivion.
“For many in Europe, Brexit is a shambles and is probably a historical mistake.
“But, Macron is developing this idea that the next European elections, in just a few months time, will be between progressive and nationalist-populists.
“We need Britain on our side, we can’t let Britain drift away.
“It is not practical. We need Britain, We need a deal. We need to help May save face.
“A no deal would be bad for everyone, and not just the UK but the EU as well.”
Mr Macron has increasingly confronted the more Eurosceptic elements of the EU, such as hitting out at Hungary and Italy.
He said that Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán and Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini were “right to consider him a threat”.
The enraged French president said that he would never “cede any ground to nationalists and those who advocate hate speech”.
Earlier today, former Labour MP Gisela Stuart predicted that the Europeans will back down over their Brexit deal stalemate before Britain leaves next March.
She explained: “The Sweden election does not bode well for the European Parliament elections in May, so the pressure to come up with a deal before March is very useful for us because the next Parliament will be by far more eurosceptic than the current one.”
