'We could Frexit!' Michel Barnier lets rip at Emmanuel Macron as he blasts migration failures
Emmanuel Macron with an inset of Michel Barnier and pro-EU campaigners
PA/REUTERS
Brussels bigwig Michel Barnier has warned Emmanuel Macron is driving France to the brink of its very own Frexit moment.
Barnier, who also claimed the EU will not renegotiate Brexit without free movement, issued the warning as voters prepare to elect members to France’s legislature.
Macron called the snap poll after National Rally stormed to victory in the EU Parliamentary Elections earlier this month.
The populist party, led by Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, picked up 30 MEPs with 31 per cent of the vote.
Michel Barnier has warned Emmanuel Macron is driving France to the brink of its very own Frexit moment
PA/REUTERSMacron’s centrist coalition was reduced to just 13 MEPs as its vote share collapsed to 14.6 per cent.
The left also poses a threat to the French President, with Raphael Glucksman falling just short of the centrist faction.
Opinion polls suggest the populist right will come out on top, with Macron even being leapfrogged by the left-wing New Popular Front.
In a fresh Frexit warning, Barnier told The Telegraph: “I regret that in my country that this warning has not been listened to… about migration, about security, about authority of the state, and the respect and development of the poorest parts of the country.”
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Marine Le Pen saw her party storm to victory in the European elections
GettyHe added: “It is my conviction that we have to pay huge attention and great respect to what people on the ground think in some very poor regions.
“That was the case in the UK explaining a large part of the Brexit vote, and I think it could be the same in France.”
Speaking about Macron’s decision to call a snap election, Barnier said it was a “very risky” move by the French President.
Despite National Rally toning down its Eurosceptic message, Barnier believes Le Pen remains “anti-European”.
Macron's decision to call a snap election has been dubbed 'very risky'
PAAn opinion poll released last year revealed just 29 per cent of French respondents believe France could face a better future outside of the European Union.
The figure was dwarfed by the 65 per cent who believe France should remain a member of the continental club.
French voters will go to the polls on June 30 and July 7 for two rounds to elect MPs to the legislature.
However, there are concerns a poor performance by Macron’s centrist colleagues could result in a new crisis to hit the Eurozone.