• Published

French finance minister Roland Lescure has invited Britain to "come all the way" back to the EU, after Prime Minister Andy Burnham signalled a second Brexit referendum was "possible" in a future Labour election manifesto.

Lescure said being in the bloc comes with some difficulties, but it enables members to better address the challenges facing the world.

Last week, Burnham said the UK needed to "consider the options", ranging from staying as is, rejoining the customs union or single market, or going "all the way".

Asked about the PM's comments, Lescure told the BBC: "British people decided, and that's obviously their 100% right, and if they're willing to come back, they will have to decide."

"But what I can tell them is: come back, anytime."

Burnham recently warned that planned EU rules to help European manufacturers would damage the UK.

The prime minister expressed concerns about how British industry and supply chains could be affected by the planned Made In Europe scheme.

The proposals aim to protect EU industry from Chinese competitors by giving companies inside the bloc priority for public contracts and subsidies. The EU's car industry has called for the UK to be included to prevent disruption to its own supply chains.

Asked about the possibility of Britain being kept out of the scheme, Lescure said: "Come back, and you'll be at the table, and we discuss all these things together."

'Our duty is to listen to young people'

The finance minister's interview with the BBC also touched on French domestic matters, including the student protests that have swept the country, with more than 500 schools fully or partially shut as of Wednesday.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been taking to the streets to call for better conditions in schools.

Lescure said it was a "tough world" for young people, saying he understood why they were anxious and that "our duty as leaders is to listen to them".

"It's hard to tell young people we're not going to have the money for you because we're spending a lot on health and pensions," he acknowledged.

"We're getting people more healthy. People live longer. But we cannot just say 'this is fine' and then we don't have money left for the kids, so we need to rebalance that."

In France's upcoming budget he said he will cut back on health spending and ask retired people to accept a below-inflation rise to their pension next year.

While he said "not all" French schools were crumbling, he promised further investment in education, adding: "If we need to do more, we'll have to see."

Public deficit is 'alarming'

Other challenges France is currently facing include its budget deficit, and markets pushing up borrowing costs.

Lescure acknowledged that France's annual public borrowing of over 5% of its gross domestic product (GDP) was "alarming", and said "that's why we need to act now" to avoid being forced to act later.

Asked about the possibility of an intervention from the eurozone's central bank, Lescure said his job was to make sure France did not have to "go there".

With significant rises in French borrowing costs, especially the premium paid over its eurozone partner, Germany, Lescure acknowledged it was "more expensive" to borrow but said there was "no issue" with issuing its debt.

He said that his budget "will pass" a fractious French parliament and there were "lots of different ways" to ensure that.

Related topics

• • Published30 September
• • Published22 September