FILE PHOTO: French Junior Minister for European affairs Amelie de Montchalin leaves after the weekly cabinet meeting and an official presentation of the pensions reform bill at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Charles Platiau

PARIS (Reuters) - France would not sign a bad post-Brexit deal with the United Kingdom on Dec. 31 just for the sake of agreeing one to meet a deadline, said French European Affairs Minister Amelie de Montchalin on Wednesday.

“We must not cede to the pressures of a timetable,” Montchalin told a hearing of the French Senate.

Britain left the EU in January with an 11-month, business-as-usual transition period, and will need to agree new trading terms from January 2021 to avoid potential disruption to commerce.