French election 2022: The one candidate Boris Johnson is truly terrified of

He even said he’d seek to learn lessons from those in the UK who voted for Brexit out of dissatisfaction with the EU.

“We must take account of the lessons of Brexit and of the sentiment of the people which expressed itself in the UK on many subjects, and which we find here, too,” he said.

Without reforms to Europe’s immigration, trade and industrial policies, “there will be other Brexits and I do not want other Brexits”.

Speaking at a rally in Montreuil-Juigné, a small town in western France, Mr Barnier said Mr Macron had lacked a “clear vision” when he won power and had taken as long as four years to come up with policies on issues such as crime, immigration and nuclear energy.

He was made of sterner stuff, he said promising “my hand will not tremble”.