‘We’re not Brexit predators’: France denies it is trying to steal jobs from UK

France has often been accused by certain elements of the British political class and the UK media of doing its utmost to gain from the fallout of the British public's shock decision to vote the EU.

But Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire tried to rubbish the idea that France was openly trying to take advantage of Brexit to boost Paris at the expense of London.

“We don't have a predatory vision when it comes to Brexit,” Le Maire told The Local and other members of the Anglo American Press Association in Paris on Monday.

“It's not about taking jobs from the UK, it's about (making France) more attractive – all in the framework of fair competition,” he said.

“I repeat: we don't have a predatory vision, it's not about making London lose out so Paris can gain. It's just about making Paris more attractive,” he said.

There will be some in the UK, particularly those involved in the Brexit negotiations, who might not believe him.

London has been irked by some of the agressive ad campaigns launched by French officials to persuade companies to move across the Channel. Some have even been banned.

READ ALSO: 'Merci Brexit' – Paris overtakes London as most attractive European capital

And in July last year the British finance sector's EU pointman warned in a leaked report that France was seeking to use Brexit to weaken the City of London.

 

“Effectively this translates into an intention to relocalise a certain number of jobs that when calculated over a few years will number in the thousands.

 

Le Maire stressed that the government wants Paris to become a major financial centre and that measures they have taken, notably around tax cuts, are in order to achieve that aim.

 

 

In March this year Le Maire had already spoken of his confidence that “several thousand” jobs would relocate from London to Paris thanks to Brexit and also warned the UK any post-Brexit free trade deal struck between Britain and the European Union must not include financial services.

 

The president of the Paris region of Ile-de-France, Valerie Pecresse, has even spoken of 10,000 jobs relocating by next year.

 

In November she said she had already been promised 2,500 jobs to be switched from Britain as a result of Brexit and the target was 10,000 by 2019.

Brexit negotiations are entering a crunch phase as talks continue on what the UK's future relationship with the EU will be, especially in the crucial area of trade.

While certain pro-Brexit politicians in the UK suggest Prime Minister Theresa May should be prepared to walk away without a deal, around 100,000 people marched in London on Saturday to demand a second referendum, this time on the terms of the divorce settlement from the EU.

When asked by The Local whether he would back a second referendum on Brexit in the UK, Le Maire declined to take sides but simply warned that “time was running out” to conclude Brexit talks in the right way.