Embassy responds to criticism over Brexit questions
The British Embassy in Paris is seeking to answer key Brexit questions for Britons in France in a series of short videos – and says it is taking on board criticisms that its first ones do not address the ‘no deal’ scenario.
Following on from many ‘outreach meetings’ around the country where the embassy has met with the British community, it is putting up videos on its Facebook page in coming days. So far they include one about residency rights of Britons in France after Brexit and one about the ‘implementation period’ (commonly known as a transition period).
However several commenters on its videos and on discussion threads in Facebook groups for Britons in France expressed dissatisfaction that the ‘no deal’ scenario (which is increasingly possible as the March 29, 2019 deadline approaches) has been ignored.
An embassy spokeswoman said they are aware of the feedback and will be seeking to address the ‘no deal’ issue in future videos, especially as it is now increasingly being discussed in the press.
However she said the reason for not mentioning it so far is that the videos aimed to give basic information to people who were not able to attend an outreach event; what is more she said many people continued to ask the embassy ‘technical questions’ such as what has been agreed or how to apply for a carte de séjour. It therefore focused on what has been agreed in the draft withdrawal agreement between the UK and EU.
She said the embassy is also waiting for the release of new ‘no deal’ contingency planning papers by the government, expected to be from tomorrow (Thursday) through to early next month.
In the meantime people in the south of France can sign up for a new outreach meeting, in Perpignan, on September 5 at 17.30, at this link. It will be the first to be held in the town.
