+ A
A -
AFP
London
French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday he wanted London bankers and academics to move to France after Brexit, following a meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May.
"I want banks, talents, academics, researchers and so on," Macron said after hastily-arranged talks with May at Downing Street ahead of a campaign speech in London to drum up support among the city's large community of French expat voters.
"It will be part of my programme to be attractive for these kinds of people," the former economy minister and ex-investment banker said.
He added he wanted to tell expats living in Britain that 'France is changing'.
"In the coming years, they'll have a lot of opportunities to come back to France and succeed in France."
The centrist candidate, who created his own En Marche! (On the Move!) party, also slammed his far-right rival, National Front leader Marine Le Pen, accusing her of wanting to 'divide France into non-Muslim people and Muslim people'.
Her 'programme is one to push France into the 19th century,' he added.
Opinion polls suggest Le Pen would win the first round of France's presidential election in April, but lose in the run-off to Macron on May 7.
As he arrived for talks with May, Macron told reporters he wanted to discuss 'the relationship between France and the UK, Brexit and some very important bilateral issues'.
"Monsieur Macron was in already in London, he asked for a meeting and we were able to accommodate," May's spokesman told reporters, adding they would have a 'broad range of discussion'.
Asked if it was normal for a British prime minister to host a French presidential candidate, he noted that Tony Blair hosted Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007.
The spokesman said no other candidates had requested a meeting, though May would not be prepared to meet Le Pen, who is topping most polls for the April 23 first round of voting.
"There's a long-standing policy that we don't engage with the Front National," he said, adding that as far as the British government was aware she had no plans to visit London.
Britain is home to an estimated 300,000-plus French expats - largely based in the capital - and Macron was due later to address 3,000 of them at the Methodist Central Hall, opposite the Houses of Parliament.
Conservative leader May promised a close post-Brexit relationship with France on security and defence as she met with Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve in London this Friday.
