France is against repeatedly extending the deadline for the U.K. to leave the EU, a presidential adviser said Friday.
France was the most vocal among the remaining EU27 countries in pushing for a short Brexit delay at a summit last month after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May asked for a second extension to Article 50.
Despite French President Emmanuel Macron's reluctance, the EU leaders then agreed to extend the Brexit deadline to October 31.
“We must not get sucked into repeated extensions, that’s for sure,” Reuters reported the adviser as saying. “Our message is clear: a solution must have been found by October 31.”
The adviser did not rule out a further extension in the event of a looming no-deal exit by end-October, but stressed that France did not want to see repeated delays to Britain's EU exit.
“Maybe European elections (in Britain) will serve as a shock to reach a transpartisan deal,” the adviser said, referring to this month's European Parliament election.