France warned on Wednesday that it would prefer Britain to crash out of Europe without a deal rather than accept a compromise that undermined the integrity of the European Union.

The stark warning from Nathalie Loiseau, the country’s Europe minister, came as both sides prepared for a crucial fortnight of negotiation following the close of the Conservative party conference.

“No deal would be better than a bad deal,” Ms Loiseau told a French radio station, turning familiar Brexiteers’ own mantra back on the UK, before warning that “time is running out” for Theresa May to strike a deal with Brussels.

Her remarks came hours before the Prime Minister delivered her conference speech in which she refused to rule out a ‘no deal’ result and repeated demands for a deal with Europe that delivered “frictionless trade in goods”.

British and EU negotiators now have until the European Council on October 18 to reach the basis for a Withdrawal Agreement that would seal the terms of the EU-UK divorce, and open the door to full-blown trade talks in April next year.