France leading charge to go for No Deal Brexit and shock Britain into caving in over fish

France is spearheading calls for Michel Barnier to give up on the negotiations and trigger No Deal to shock No 10 into a rethink.

Emmanuel Macron believes Britain will return to the table within a matter of weeks more willing to accept EU demands on fishing and red tape.

He has formed a coalition with others close to the UK, like the Netherlands and Belgium, to block any further attempts by Brussels to compromise.

The "jittery" alliance is worried Commission boss Ursula von der Leyen is granting too many concessions to get a deal over the line.

During a debrief to ambassadors yesterday Mr Barnier had to defend himself against accusations he's going soft on Britain.

He also said the UK had "moved a lot" on the thorny issue of common standards.

But an EU diplomat said: "We cannot sacrifice long-term interests because of short-term timetable issues."

A second Brussels source added: “Fish is getting down to nitty gritty of species by species discussions.

"Barnier defended questions over whether the UK has moved enough on this issue. But he needs to find compromise Macron can back."

With talks heading into their final days, Irish PM Micheal Martin declared it's now time for the bloc to activate its contingency plans.

EU Parliament Brexit negotiator Christope Hansen added: "If we don't have an agreement at the end of this week, it will be No Deal."

Negotiators will continue talks today [Thurs] before Mr Barnier briefs ambassadors on Friday when a decision will be made whether to carry on.

British officials rubbished claims by the Frenchman during a briefing to MEPs yesterday that they've watered down their demands on fishing.

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