Eurostar trains heading from London to Paris may not be allowed into France if there is no Brexit deal and sufficient preparations have not been made, France’s European Affairs minister said on Thursday (13 September).

Nathalie Loiseau was asked at a speaking event in London whether it was a real possibility that Eurostar trains coming from London would not be allowed on French soil if there were no Brexit deal.

“If we do nothing, and if we reach no agreement, this is what would happen among other examples,” she said.

“We cannot wake up on 30 March and say to our fellow citizens and to our business: ‘Wow we thought it would never happen so we are not ready.'”

She said France was ensuring it was ready for any eventuality.

“I will go to the French parliament in the coming weeks with a draft bill so that we get prepared for each and every scenario,” she added.

Yesterday Michael O’Leary, the boss of Europe’s biggest low-cost airline Ryanair, warned about the risk of flights between Britain and Europe being grounded for days in the wake of a hard Brexit.

Ryanair CEO warns hard Brexit will ground flights

Ryanair’s chief executive stepped up his warning about the risk of flights between Britain and Europe being grounded for days in the wake of Britain’s exit from the European Union next March, saying there had been no assurances on the issue.