France warns of bloody Brexit talks battle

MUNICH, Germany: France on Sunday warned Britain to expect a bitter, bloody battle in Brexit trade talks with the EU, saying the two sides would "rip each other apart".

Negotiations for a deal on future EU-UK relations are not due to start until next month, but London and Brussels have already clashed over rules for British financial firms´ access to the EU after Brexit.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves le Drian said it would be tough to achieve Britain´s aim of agreeing a free trade deal by the end of the year, with the two sides far apart on a range of issues. "I think that on trade issues and the mechanism for future relations, which we are going to start on, we are going to rip each other apart," Le Drian said at the Munich Security Conference. Britain formally left the EU two weeks ago but still trades like a member under a transition period ticking down to the end of this year.