French MPs vote through Brexit law to protect Britons
As expected the National Assembly has voted through a law giving the government powers to create new laws by order to deal with Brexit – and it aims at protecting Britons’ rights, including for fonctionnaires .
The law is especially aimed at allowing the French government to take emergency action in the case of a no-deal Brexit, however it also includes an amendment allowing British fonctionnaires titulaires who have this status before Brexit to keep it, even in the case of ‘no-deal’.
The rule on this, which was backed by the government, refers to a requirement of reciprocity however this is not expected to cause a problem especially as Britain has few posts comparable to a French fonctionnaire (which can usually only be done by a national of the country or an EU citizen).
Europe Minister Nathalie Loiseau said before the assembly today: “I want to say to Britons who live in France that they will be welcome tomorrow, as they are today. They must not become hostages of a no-deal Brexit.”
It comes as confusion reigns in the UK over the future of Brexit, with Prime Minister Theresa May having put off the expected vote on the negotiated deal.
Mrs Loiseau said: “There is no other deal possible… and this deal is a good deal.”
The law also aims at enabling the government to protect rights of French people who live and work in the UK, especially if they come back to France later on (so their UK qualifications and pension contributions are taken into account etc).
For more about Brexit, including the topic of fonctionnaires and why their status matters to them, see the January edition of The Connexion newspaper, out at the end of next week (you can still subscribe at this link).
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