Paris: French MP calls Dave ‘a blackmailer like Mrs T’

A FRENCH MP yesterday accused David Cameron of adopting blackmail tactics worthy of Margaret Thatcher in his renegotiation.

Alain Tourret, who represents the Calvados region, told fellow politicians that the Prime Minister was forcing his changes by threatening Britain could leave the EU.

‘Europe is a whole that we can adapt, but we can’t rework it only according to our particular interests, otherwise a line is crossed,’ he told the French parliament.

‘Today, Mr Cameron adopts the policy of blackmail of Mrs Thatcher.’

French prime minister Manuel Valls yesterday said a British exit from the EU would be ‘a shock’ for Europe but that member states could not pick and choose the rules that suit them.

He told MPs: ‘We believe and we hope that a deal is possible to keep Britain in the EU because the departure of Britain would signify ... a shock for Europe.

‘But more importantly a shock to the way the world sees Europe, which is already in crisis.’

Mr Valls said France would be ‘particularly vigilant’ on the issues of free movement of EU citizens and the relation between countries in and out of the Eurozone.

‘Europe should be a place of solidarity between states and we cannot choose “a la carte” based on what suits us,’ he said.