A French mayor has called for Brussels to ditch its use of the English language after Britain voted to leave the European Union.

English is one of 24 'official languages' of the EU while it is also one of the 'working languages' used to conduct every day business.

But Robert Ménard, the mayor of the southern French town of Béziers, believes English now no longer has 'any legitimacy' in Brussels in the wake of the Brexit vote.

Robert Ménard, the mayor of the southern French town of Béziers, has called for Brussels to ditch its use of the English language after Britain voted to leave the European Union

Ménard believes English now no longer has 'any legitimacy' in Brussels in the wake of the Brexit vote

Meanwhile, the left-wing presidential candidate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon said English can no longer be the 'third working language of the European Parliament'.

According to The Local, 51 per cent of EU citizens can speak English as a first or second language while just over a quarter can speak French and nearly a third can speak German.

Despite Thursday's exit vote, it appears unlikely English would be axed altogether in Brussels since it is also the official language of both Ireland and Malta - both members of the EU.

In 2013, an EU report revealed that English had squeezed out every other language in the competition to become the common tongue of Europe.

It found that English is the most popular foreign language in all but five European countries, and all of those are small nations that use the language of their larger neighbours.

Along with French and German, English is one of 24 'official languages' of the EU while it is also one of the 'working languages' used to conduct every day business. French President Francois Hollande is pictured today with European Council President Donald Tusk

The left-wing presidential candidate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon said English can no longer be the 'third working language of the European Parliament'

The report also found that two out of three people across the continent have at least a fair working knowledge of English.

The report published by the EU statistics arm Eurostat suggested that the dominance of English was likely to become even greater in the future.

It found that 94 per cent of secondary school pupils and 83 per cent of primary age pupils across the EU are learning English as their first foreign language, more than four times as many as learn French, German or Spanish. Only in Britain and Ireland is French the top foreign language in schools.

French Prime Minister calls on EU to stop being 'intrusive' following Brexit vote amid calls from other European politicians to start the UK's exit negotiations immediately

By Amie Gordon and Victoria Finan for MailOnline

The European Union must stop being nit-picky and intrusive, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said today as the bloc scrambled to handle the aftermath of Britain's vote to leave.

The Brexit vote to leave the EU has deepened fears among mainstream politicians across Europe about the rise of eurosceptic, anti-establishment parties, particularly in France, where the far-right National Front is increasingly popular.

That concern has also prompted mainstream French politicians on the left and right to call for an overhaul of Europe, in a country where surveys show disillusionment with Brussels is growing.

The European Union must stop being nit-picky and intrusive, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said today as the bloc scrambled to handle the aftermath of Britain's vote to leave

'We must put an end to this sad and finicky Europe. Too often it is intrusive on details and desperately absent on what's essential,' Valls said.

'We must break away from the dogma of ever more Europe. Europe must act not by principle but when it is useful and pertinent.'

While a large majority of French are attached to EU membership, polls over the past few years have consistently shown a majority also want Europe to have fewer powers, said Francois Miquet-Marty, head of the Viavoice polling institute.

Only one on five voters want 'more Europe', Miquet-Marty said.

In his speech on Sunday in Normandy, Valls insisted Europe 'is not about seeing sovereign states disappear'

Long in the EU's driving seat alongside the bloc's power-house Germany, France, dogged by a poor track-record on abiding by the EU's fiscal rules, has been steadily less active on the EU scene over the past years.

In his speech on Sunday in Normandy, Valls insisted Europe 'is not about seeing sovereign states disappear.'