BAYROU WARNS FRANCE NOT TO COPY BRITAIN – French centrist attacks UK’s political decline

France could become like Britain if MPs tax the rich to solve its debt crisis, the French prime minister said in a parting shot before being ousted by MPs.

Francois Bayrou said economic meltdown and high taxes could force the wealthy to flee, as they had done in the UK.

His comments came in a last-gasp bid to save his premiership as he pleaded with the French parliament not to vote him out of office.

He lost the vote resoundingly, plunging France further into crisis and triggering calls for Emmanuel Macron to resign as president.

In his speech to MPs, Mr Bayrou warned that taxing billionaires to shore up the economy would simply see them “move away”.