French minister warns of ‘toxic’ Nigel Farage poll win, urges speedy Brexit

PARIS: Victory for veteran British anti-EU campaigner Nigel Farage in this week’s European Parliament election will create a big headache for the European Union and the UK should exit the bloc as soon as possible, France’s finance minister said on Tuesday.

Opinion polls put Farage’s newly created Brexit Party well ahead of its rivals, including Prime Minister Theresa May’s governing Conservatives and the main opposition Labour Party, in the countdown to the vote, which in Britain is held on May 23.

“When you have Nigel Farage at more than 35 percent of the vote that won’t be easy for the European Union to manage,” Bruno Le Maire said. “I consider that the British people decided to leave the European Union and the faster Britain leaves the better,” Le Maire told reporters.