GETTY Bruno Le Maire has promised French voters their own EU referendum

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Bruno Le Maire, a former agriculture minister bidding to become the next French president, has pledged he will hold a national vote on a “radical reorientation of the European project” should he be elected to the Élysée Palace in 12 months time. The europhile politician, who was previously France’s Europe secretary, has admitted there has been a “total loss of enthusiasm” for the EU across the continent. But Mr Le Maire has argued his planned referendum would be a “positive” vote and “the exact opposite of of the one being proposed by David Cameron”, as it would attempt to win French voters’ support for deeper EU integration.

In an interview with website Politico this week, Mr Le Maire acknowledged rising euroscepticism across the EU. He said: “There is a total loss of enthusiasm [for Europe] in all countries — that is without precedent since 1957. “Either we rise to the situation and propose strong answers, or we continue as before and we will shatter ourselves against the wall of populism.” EU REFERENDUM: WHO IS ALLOWED TO VOTE?

There is a total loss of enthusiasm for Europe in all countries Bruno Le Maire

Mr Le Maire’s promise of an EU referendum is likely to prove popular with French voters, with an Ipsos MORI poll this week revealing more than half (55 per cent) of Frenchmen wanted their own in/out vote on EU membership. But despite Mr Le Maire’s intention for a French referendum to re-energise his country’s support for the EU, the same survey showed 41 per cent of those asked would vote for France to quit the bloc. Front National leader Marine Le Pen has already promised an EU referendum for French voters should she be elected president, with the far-right politician currently highly-placed in opinion polls. The EU’s top bureaucrat Jean-Claude Juncker today repeated claims from other Brussels bosses a Brexit vote on June 23 could encourage other member states into attempting to leave. Speaking in Berlin, the European Commission president was reported as saying a British exit from the EU would be a “disaster” and tempt other hesitant member states who “fancy more of the same”.

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