French Finance Minister Roland Lescure has invited Britain to rejoin the European Union, saying the country can "come back, anytime" if British voters choose to do so.
Lescure's comments follow Prime Minister Andy Burnham's recent statement that a second Brexit referendum is "possible" in a future Labour election manifesto. Burnham has said the UK should "consider the options," ranging from maintaining the current arrangement to rejoining the customs union, the single market, or the EU entirely.
Asked by the BBC whether Britain would be included in the EU's planned Made In Europe scheme, Lescure replied: "Come back, and you'll be at the table, and we discuss all these things together." The scheme aims to protect European manufacturers from Chinese competitors by giving companies inside the bloc priority for public contracts and subsidies.
Burnham has warned that the EU rules could damage British industry and supply chains. The EU's car industry has called for the UK to be included in the scheme to prevent disruption to its own supply networks.
Lescure acknowledged that EU membership comes with difficulties but said it enables members to better address global challenges. He told the BBC: "British people decided, and that's obviously their 100% right, and if they're willing to come back, they will have to decide." He characterized Britain's 2016 vote to leave as "very sad."
In other comments, Lescure addressed France's domestic challenges, including student protests over school conditions that have led to over 500 schools being fully or partially shut. Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets demanding better conditions.
Lescure said he understood young people's anxieties about France's fiscal pressures. In the upcoming budget, he said France will cut health spending and ask retired people to accept a below-inflation pension increase. He promised further investment in education but said the country must rebalance spending priorities.
France is grappling with an annual public borrowing rate exceeding 5% of GDP, which Lescure called "alarming." Rising borrowing costs, particularly the premium France pays relative to Germany, have added pressure. Lescure said his priority is ensuring France avoids needing intervention from the eurozone's central bank.