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France is most worried about the consequences for its fishing communities if the U.K. crashes out the bloc without an agreement, according to officials familiar with the situation. Britain’s departure, scheduled for March 29, comes at a crucial time with the vote across Europe two months later and Macron facing widespread street protests from the so-called Yellow Vest movement.
A no-deal Brexit will happen if the U.K. Parliament doesn’t approve the agreement struck with the EU by the scheduled leaving date -- or instead request an extension to the negotiating deadline. After lawmakers dealt a resounding defeat to the deal earlier this month, Prime Minister Theresa May is hoping for more concessions from the European side.
In a behind-closed-doors meeting about Brexit between the European Commission and ambassadors from the 27 remaining countries in Brussels on Wednesday, the French envoy said that as many as 70 percent of workers in areas of France dominated by the fishing industry could be hit if the U.K. leaves without an agreement, a diplomat present at the meeting said.
France repeatedly raises the issue of the serious damage Brexit could do to rural fishing communities in EU meetings, according to two other diplomats. France has switched from often taking the most hard-line stance in talks about the U.K.’s departure over the past two years to now striking a far more conciliatory tone as the domestic political situation has become more fraught, they said.
That’s demonstrated in France’s ambitions to see Brexit delayed by as much as a year, one of the diplomats said. A postponement will happen only if the U.K. requests it and all the 27 other EU governments agree. Some countries believe there shouldn’t be any delay. [...]