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Politics

18th Jun 2019

What do French people think about Brexit?

It's not great

Oli Dugmore

What do French people think about Brexit? (An attendant on the Eurostar)

Brexit n’impresse pas

France is as close to England as Northern Ireland to Scotland. And loath as many are to admit it, our frères et soeurs often know us better than ourselves. You could argue rosbif is a foreshadowing of gammon, divined from the meaty stars over the English channel.

Despite all the drama, it’s obvious we get on. We tunnelled under an ocean to link our capitals. That train route has been described as one of the modern wonders of the world. So, maybe we should listen to them when they say we are “slightly in the shit” when it comes to Brexit.

OK, you probably didn’t Pierre to tell you that. You knew it already. But there’s something more painful about hearing it in French. Salt in the wound, probably because of the centuries of war, sporting rivalry and mock accents.

So, in the name of schadenfreude (cheers Germany), we took to the streets of Nice and asked the assorted public for their take on the catastrofuck currently engulfing British politics.

Do they dislike Boris Johnson? Will Brexit fragment the European order and create opportunity for a predatory Russia? Yes to both. Have I reached a sufficient word count for this intro? We both know the answer to that.