France will make preparations one month in advance so that companies are fully prepared ahead of Britain leaving with no withdrawal deal. French MP Gerald Darmanin who is in charge of customs met with Michael Gove on Friday to show how France is preparing for the UK’s departure.
Mr Darmanin said the French authorities will act as if Brexit has occurred to make sure they are prepared by the end of October.
He said: “We are getting ready for the worst.
“We are preparing for a no-deal Brexit, which is the likeliest hypothesis as of today.”
However, Mr Darmanin did not give a specific date for the start of the test run.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted he will make sure the country has left the EU by October 31 regardless of whether a deal in in place.
Businesses have been warned of long tailbacks for lorries transporting goods between mainland Europe and Britain.
The British Government has also promised that most goods from the EU will be allowed into Britain without a full customs check for the first three months in the event of a no deal Brexit.
Mr Darmanin also said that France had drafted in an extra 700 customs officers.
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He said: “We want to make things as painless as possible.”
The automation and digitalisation of the processes will hopefully make traffic near France’s ports more fluid.
The French politician also hoped it would stop there being massive traffic tailbacks in Calais.
French authorities spent a whopping €6million (£5.4million) on new buildings and parking in Calais.
The ports of Le Havre and La Rochelle have also received new infrastructures in preparation for Brexit.
The French President still insists that the Withdrawal Agreement cannot shift by much, and seems to be of the opinion that the UK should leave on October 31 – deal or no deal – much like Mr Johnson.
He said in Paris last week: “I want to be very clear, in the month ahead, we will not find a new Withdrawal Agreement that deviates far from the original.
“I would like to say that the key elements of this agreement including the Irish backstop are not just technical constraints or legal quibblings, but genuine indispensable guarantees to preserve stability in Ireland and to preserve the integrity of the Single Market.”
France is the EU’s biggest agricultural producer.
The country exports wine, spirits and dairy products to the UK.
