France Invites Britain to "Come All the Way" Back to EU as Burnham Floats Referendum

French finance minister Roland Lescure has extended an open invitation to the United Kingdom to rejoin the European Union, telling the BBC that Britain should "come all the way" back if it chooses to reverse its departure from the bloc. His remarks came in response to suggestions from Prime Minister Andy Burnham that a second Brexit referendum could feature in a future Labour election manifesto.

In an interview with the BBC, Lescure said the decision ultimately rested with the British people, but made clear that France would welcome their return without hesitation. "British people decided, and that's obviously their 100% right, and if they're willing to come back, they will have to decide," he said. "But what I can tell them is: come back, anytime."

The invitation follows comments from Burnham last week in which the prime minister said the UK needed to "consider the options" regarding its relationship with Brussels. Those options, according to Burnham, range from maintaining the current post-Brexit arrangements to rejoining the customs union or the single market, or going "all the way" back into full membership.

Lescure acknowledged that EU membership comes with certain difficulties and obligations, but argued that the benefits of belonging to the bloc outweigh the challenges. He said being inside the union enables member states to tackle global problems more effectively together than they could alone, a point he emphasised as central to the case for membership.

The French minister's comments also touched on a pressing trade concern for the UK. Burnham recently warned that planned EU rules designed to support European manufacturers would harm British industry. The prime minister expressed concerns about how British businesses and supply chains could be affected by the proposed "Made In Europe" scheme.

That scheme aims to shield EU industry from Chinese competition by prioritising companies within the bloc for public contracts and subsidies. The European car industry has itself called for the UK to be included in the arrangement, warning that excluding Britain could disrupt its own closely integrated supply chains across the continent.

Asked directly about the possibility that Britain might be left out of the scheme, Lescure offered a straightforward solution: rejoin the club. "Come back, and you'll be at the table, and we discuss all these things together," he said, framing membership as the surest way for Britain to protect its industrial interests.

The interview also turned to domestic matters in France, where student protests have swept the country. More than 500 schools were fully or partially shut as of Wednesday, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets to demand better conditions in schools. The unrest has become a significant test for the French government.

Lescure expressed sympathy for the demonstrators, describing the current environment as a "tough world" for young people. He said he understood why students felt anxious about their future and insisted that "our duty as leaders is to listen to them," signalling that the government would not simply dismiss their concerns.

He was candid about the difficult trade-offs facing France's public finances. "It's hard to tell young people we're not going to have the money for you because we're spending a lot on health and pensions," Lescure admitted, acknowledging the generational tensions at the heart of the budget debate.

The minister pointed to demographic pressures, noting that people are living longer and healthier lives. While he welcomed those advances, he warned that France cannot simply declare the situation acceptable while leaving insufficient resources for younger generations. "We need to rebalance that," he said.

In the upcoming French budget, Lescure said he plans to reduce health spending and will ask retirees to accept a pension increase below the rate of inflation next year. While he conceded that "not all" French schools were crumbling, he promised further investment in education, adding that if more funding is needed, the government will have to examine its options.

Beyond the protests, France faces mounting pressure over its budget deficit, with financial markets pushing up the country's borrowing costs. Lescure acknowledged that France's annual public borrowing of more than 5% of GDP was "alarming," and said "that's why we need to act now" to avoid being forced into action later under worse conditions.

Asked whether the European Central Bank might need to intervene, Lescure said his job was to ensure France never reached the point of requiring such support. He was responding to significant rises in French borrowing costs, particularly the premium France pays over its eurozone partner Germany, which has widened as investors grow more cautious.

Lescure conceded it had become "more expensive" for France to borrow, but stressed there was "no issue" with the country's ability to issue its debt. He also expressed confidence that his budget "will pass" through a fractious French parliament, insisting there were "lots of different ways" to secure the necessary support.