Former EU Brexit negotiator warns of 'hidden agenda' of le Pen's party

Paris (France), Jun 27 (EFE) - "In 2016, Marine Le Pen congratulated the British for having abandoned servitude to the EU. And I have not yet seen her rectify those words," recalls to EFE the former EU negotiator for Brexit, the French Michel Barnier, who warns of "the hidden intentions" of the Le Penist party, favorite in the legislative elections this Sunday and July 7.

CAMERA: HELENA SÁNCHEZ

FOOTAGE OF THE INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL BARNIER, FORMER EU CHIEF BREXIT NEGOTIATOR AND FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER OF FRANCE, AND TOTALS IN FRENCH OF THE INTERVIEWEE.

TRANSLATION TOTALS:

Michael Barnier, former EU chief Brexit negotiator:

1. "We are in a 'Fréxit' moment in France, that is to say, there is a moment of rupture in which all this resentment, this popular sentiment used or exploited by populists from the extreme right or the extreme left. That's what happened with Brexit. The Brexit had to do with nostalgic and nationalist elites, Mr. Farage, and Mr. Johnson, who used social anger in the British regions. So we have something of the same situation."

2. "I think that, in any case, Madame le Pen and Mr. Bardella did not change their minds on the night of Brexit in June 23.2016 Madame le Pen congratulated herself by saying Bravo British, you have escaped from European servitude. These are important words. But for 8 years, I have never heard Madame le Pen or Mr. Bardella say we were wrong in June 2016, never. So I think that, deep down, they still have the same idea of a Europe that is reduced from a sum of unions to a sum of isolated or solitary nations, a kind of what used to be called the Europe of nations. We have a different idea of Europe, which must be a global actor, a political power with a single market, our great asset, and a foreign and defense policy capacity".

3. "Europe has made mistakes, especially with its excessive ultra-liberalism. In the last 30 years, we have opened all the doors and all the windows, while the Chinese and the Americans did not do it at all and closed their doors and closed their windows.

We were too naïve in our trade. We deregulated financial services too much for 30 years."

4. "I think she's hiding it, but that's something to fear because I don't think she's changed her mind since Brexit, since June 23, 2016. Because she hasn't said she was wrong.

So if she hasn't said she was wrong, it's because she still thinks she was right to talk about European serfdom. So I think we have to be cautious."

5. "And if she doesn't win, as I hope, because the French may react, as I said, there is still time to learn from the lessons of Brexit, 8 years after the same event in the UK, most British people regret what happened because they see that none of the promises were kept, that there were a lot of lies. Not all the difficulties are related to Brexit. Still, all the British difficulties are more serious because of Brexit, because the UK is out of the single market, and therefore all the trade in objective figures. Of course, there is so much more unemployment, so much deterioration in the civil service, so much immigration, and much more complexity in trade."