Britain will risk losing access to Europe’s common market if it votes to leave the EU, French president François Hollande said Wednesday, warning that a Brexit would be “irreversible”, reports FRANCE 24.
The UK holds a defining referendum on its membership of the EU on Thursday, with the outcome still too close to call.
Speaking after talks with Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico in Paris, the French president said he hoped Britons would choose to remain within the 28-member bloc.
He warned that a victory for the “Leave” campaign would have serious consequences for both Britain and the EU.
"The departure of a country that is geographically, politically and historically part of the EU would have extremely serious consequences,” Hollande said.
“At stake is more than the future of the United Kingdom in the European Union,” he added. “It is the future of the European Union.”
The French leader noted that a Brexit would put Britain at a "very serious risk" of losing access to the bloc's single market, which guarantees the free movement of goods, capital, services, and people.
He said France would “draw all the conclusions” of such a vote, adding that the UK’s exit from the EU would be “irreversible”.