France Preparing For No-Deal Brexit In Light Of Defeat Of May's Plan - Minister

France and Europe as a whole are getting ready for a no-deal Brexit, French Minister for European Affairs Nathalie Loiseau said in an interview on Wednesday, a day after UK Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal was rejected by her parliament

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th January, 2019) France and Europe as a whole are getting ready for a no-deal Brexit, French Minister for European Affairs Nathalie Loiseau said in an interview on Wednesday, a day after UK Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal was rejected by her parliament.

On Tuesday, the UK House of Commons voted down May's Brexit plan with Brussels, making the future of the London-Brussels divorce even more unclear and a no-deal scenario more likely. The plan was shot down in a 432-202 vote.

"We, Europeans, and, in particular, we, the French, are getting ready for the no-deal [Brexit]," Loiseau told the France Inter radio station.

The minister added that the French government would soon approve a new bill that would enable the cabinet to take all measures needed to prepare for a UK departure from the bloc without an agreement.

Commenting on the possibility of a second Brexit referendum, Loiseau said that it was just a "hypothesis."

Following May's Brexit deal collapse, her government will face a no-confidence motion, initiated by the Labour Party, later on Wednesday. If the government survives the vote, May is expected to present her new proposals on the withdrawal agreement on Monday.