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#Brexit: Macron tells May the door is still open

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Newly-elected French President Macron exuded warmth and charm at today’s meeting with the embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May, writes Catherine Feore.

Prime Minister May had already had one hell of a day. Meeting at 9:00 with furious backbench Conservative MPs, then negotiations with the leader of the DUP, Arlene Foster MP, then Paris for a working dinner with Macron and watching the France/England friendly in the Stade de France (result 3-2, just in case you're interested).

Macron, par contre, has been enjoying a seemingly charmed existence. A clear victory over far-right MEP Marine Le Pen, followed by a landslide result in the first round of voting for the French National Assembly, leading a party that did not exist last year on a rabidly pro-EU agenda. The Yang to May’s Yin.

When asked by journalists about Brexit, Macron said that he would prefer the UK to stay but that he had to respect the sovereignty of the British people. He said that he door remained open and that it would be difficult to return once the UK had left. He hoped that the negotiations themselves would be rapid and coordinated at an EU-27 level - not on a state-by-state basis.

May confirmed that negotiations would begin on Monday.

Both May and Macron said they hoped to cooperate closely in future on many issues including economic ties, security and the exchange of electronic data.

Earlier in the day, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble also said that the door remained open to the UK.

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