French far-right signal it could block any return to the EU
The comments came as the Labour leadership crisis has pushed the UK’s relationship with the EU back into the spotlight.
France’s far-right National Rally (RN) has indicated it could veto any future British attempt to rejoin the European Union unless the move is first endorsed by a second referendum in the UK.
Any country seeking to join, or rejoin, the EU requires the unanimous approval of all 27 member states, giving individual governments the power to block accession bids.
Jordan Bardella, president of the RN and one of the leading contenders for the French presidency in 2027, said Britain could not legitimately return to the bloc without putting the question back to voters.
“To do so without a referendum would obviously be a denial of democracy because the people expressed their will through a referendum to leave,” he told the Telegraph.
“It’s a bit of a special case, but yes we would oppose it without a referendum, I think, because in any case we’re against any enlargement of the EU anyway.
“It seems perfectly normal to me, given that there was a referendum to leave, that we can’t accept a country rejoining without a referendum.”
Jean-Philippe Tanguy, RN’s deputy parliamentary leader, lashed out at the prospect of a Brexit reversal without another referendum, describing the prospect as: “Quelle horreur!”
The comments came as the Labour leadership crisis has pushed the UK’s relationship with the EU back into the spotlight, with debate around rejoining the EU intensifying.
Wes Streeting said Brexit was a “catastrophic mistake” and the UK should “one day” rejoin the bloc.
Andy Burnham, who is the most popular Labour figure among party members and voters and is expected to launch a leadership challenge if he wins the Makerfield by-election, has also said there may be a case for rejoining the EU “in the long-term”.
However, he sought to distance himself from the discussion about rejoining the EU, insisting he was “not advocating that in this by-election.”
Keir Starmer has refused to rule out a return to the political union one day, insisting he would “not get lost in a debate about what might happen years down the line”.
Presidential elections are due to take place in France in April 2027, with Bardella widely tipped as the favourite to clinch victory.
The RN, long associated with Marine Le Pen’s Eurosceptic politics, has sought to moderate its image in recent years while continuing to advocate a more nationalist vision of Europe.
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