In Colmar in eastern France, French President Francois Hollande echoed their sentiment, saying: “It will be painful for Britain but. like in all divorces, it will be painful for those who stay behind too”.
Advertisement
Luxembourg’s foreign minister says Britain needs to quickly start negotiations with the European Union on its exit from the trade bloc.
“The British vote is a tough test for Europe”, Hollande said in a televised address.
Quitting the European Union could cost Britain access to the EU’s trade barrier-free single market and mean it must seek new trade accords with countries around the world.
France would consider such a decision “as the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union, and this would be irreversible”, Mr Hollande said.
“The departure of a country that is geographically, historically, politically in the European Union would have extremely serious consequences” said Hollande, who was talking to reporters after hosting talks with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
Mr Hollande will travel to Berlin on Monday to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, and is also scheduling meetings with the leaders of France’s main political parties.
He met earlier Wednesday with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose country now holds the EU’s rotating presidency, “to discuss the consequences of the referendum and initiatives that should be taken for Europe whatever the result”, Hollande’s office said.
“We’ll have to take initiatives to bring hope back for European people”.
“France has a thousand more reasons to leave the European Union than Britain”, she told TF1 television late on Monday, referring to French membership of the euro currency and Schengen border-free area. “Today, doubts are creeping in everywhere, populism, nationalism are taking over”, Ayrault told parliament.
A 72-year-old New Hampshire woman who says Bill Cosby raped her in 1965 has withdrawn her civil defamation lawsuit against the comedian after a federal judge had allowed the case to move forward.
Advertisement
Opinion polls indicate a tiny lead for the “Remain” camp led by Prime Minister David Cameron, 4 months after he announced the date for the vote, but the result is on a knife-edge. “I want a referendum in France”.
