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52 days until Brexit and Brits in France still have unanswered questions

With just over 50 days until Brexit Day worried Britons in France are still bombarding their ambassador with questions, writes The Local's Evie Burrows-Taylor.

Published: 5 February 2019 16:52 CET
52 days until Brexit and Brits in France still have unanswered questions
Photo: The Local
The event comes at a time of extreme uncertainty for many Britons in France, with Britain's departure from the EU looming and a no deal scenario, which once seemed far-fetched, looking increasingly likely. 
 
At the last outreach meeting in Paris back in December 2017 Ambassador Ed Llewellyn was subjected to angry recriminations by the Britons who attended who seemed to blame him personally for Brexit, with one woman accusing the embassy of having a “cavalier attitude” when it came to establishing the rights of expats in France. 
 
This time the embassy seemed to be taking the meeting very seriously, holding a media briefing beforehand with the British envoy, which it turns out, only The Local attended. 
 
Llewellyn described it as “a difficult time” for people and that he and his team were trying to offer “some reassurance” with the 42 events they have held over the past two years. 
 
These events, he said, will continue after Britain's planned departure from the EU on March 29th.
 
Llewellyn also stressed that he and his team want Britons in France to continue contacting them if they need help with Brexit matters in France. 
 
“The embassy can engage in situations with the French authorities if necessary and has already done so on several occasions,” he said. 
 
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After the briefing it was time for the ambassador to head down into the 'gladiatorial pit' to face the crowd at the fully booked event, which was the third of its kind to take place in the French capital. 
 
But while it seemed tempers were likely to flare once again with tensions heightened as Brexit Day fast approaches, the atmosphere was somewhat more subdued than last time. 
 
The change in mood could be down to the fact that the embassy has been touring the country for nearly two years, reaching those who are set to be most directly affected by the UK's impending divorce from Europe. 
 
Also, it could be partly due to the very active role citizens' rights groups, such as Remain in France Together and British in Europe have played in fighting for the rights of Britons living in France and across Europe. 
 
These groups have lobbied and cajoled the British government in an effort to protect the rights Britons have been able to take for granted as citizens of an EU state. 
 
French parliament begins debating no-deal Brexit bill
Photo: AFP
 
Nevertheless, though the atmosphere may have been calmer at Monday night's event there were still around 250 people with very specific concerns about their personal situation that they still felt had not been remedied during the negotiations. 
 
Questions over rights to healthcare, onward freedom of movement and whether Britons who have been living in France for more than 15 years would have the right to vote in the case of a second EU referendum dominated the event, along with questions about how and when to get a French driving license. 
 
For example one woman was concerned that her cancer treatment would be postponed because she is not currently paying into the French tax system due to being unemployed — she was assured it would not be.  
 
Another Briton in France asked whether the fees for his child's school would increase dramatically once they were no longer EU citizens (who receive more favourable rates) — he was told they won't… yet. 
 
And still another wondered if his exams to qualify as a civil servant in France will still be relevant in the case of a no deal and whether he will be able to re-take them if he fails.  
 
Just 52 days until Britain's planned departure from the EU and there are still no concrete answers to this young man's questions, like those of many others raised on Monday night.
 
The embassy's events are clearly popular and welcomed by Britons in France but this does not detract from the fact that tens of thousands of Britons in France and across Europe, are still living in limbo. 
 
 
 

Member comments

  1. I am not entirely sure how ex-pats can hold the UK embassy and the ambassador hostage to government policy (or the lack thereof). It is one thing to hold them to account for extant process, and to make them aware of the strength of feeling, but it is well beyond their purview to expect them to predict just what either the UK or the French government will do, given the compete lack of certainty over what, if anything, will have been agreed by 29 March.

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2024 EUROPEAN ELECTIONS

‘Don’t be like Brits, who cried after Brexit’ – warns French prime minister

France's prime minister on Thursday warned the French against casting votes for the far right in next month's European elections, saying they risked becoming like Brits who backed Brexit only to have second thoughts when it was too late.

Published: 30 May 2024 14:07 CEST
'Don't be like Brits, who cried after Brexit' - warns French prime minister

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal faces an uphill struggle to narrow a yawning gap with the far right before France votes on June 9th, with polls forecasting a major defeat for the government of President Emmanuel Macron.

Attal accused the far-right Rassemblement Rally (RN) of pursuing policies that would equate to France no longer being in the European Union, even if the party insists it no longer wants a French “Frexit” withdrawal from the bloc.

Listen to the team from The Local (including some Brits) discussing France’s European election campaign in this week’s Talking France podcast. Download here or listen on the link below

“Don’t be like the British who cried after Brexit,” Attal told RTL.

“When you say you are not going to respect the rules of the single market anymore, not pay France’s dues and stop respecting most of the treaties, the reality is that we are no longer in the EU.”

Attal referred to recent UK polls showing that, if there was a repeat of the 2016 referendum on EU membership, Britain would vote to stay.

“A large majority of British regret Brexit and sometimes regret voting for something that was negative for their country,” he said.

Painting a bleak picture of post-Brexit Britain, Attal said there was “more illegal immigration than ever” and “massive economic problems”.

“France will not be stronger by being alone,” he said.

The latest poll published Monday by Ifop for Le Figaro showed the RN scoring 33.5 percent in the polls, way ahead of the government alliance based around Macron’s Renaissance party on just 16 percent.

Attal, 35, last week went head-to-head in a TV debate with the head of the RN list Jordan Bardella, 28, with government supporters crowing afterwards the premier has exposed a lack of substance in his opponent.

But there has been little sign of the debate making an impression on polls, with questions also asked over why Attal needed to impose himself instead of the little-known head of the pro-Macron list Valérie Hayer by taking on the debate.

Analysts add that the government list is in danger of even coming third in the election behind the Socialist list led by ex-commentator Raphaël Glucksmann, which scored 14.5 percent in the Ifop poll.

“Will France be the country that sends the largest contingent of far-right lawmakers to the European Parliament?” asked Attal.

If the far right arrived in force at the parliament, he said, it “could have the capacity to block European institutions, which would lead to very dangerous consequences for our country.”

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