France prepared to back out of TTIP

France says it is ready to pull out of talks over the controversial Transatlantic free-trade agreement between the EU and the US, because the “secretive” negotiations were favouring American interests over French ones.

The warning was given by France’s Secretary of State for Foreign Commerce Mathias Fekl, who said Paris is on the verge of pulling the plug on the negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

The controversial treaty has long been the cause of angst in France and a French minister has given the clearest indication yet that Paris may not be willing to go on with talks that began in July 2013.

Mathias Fekl is angry that France's main concerns are not being taken into account and that the negotiations have so far prioritized American wishes over European ones.

In an interview with French newspaper Sud Ouest, Fekl said the negotiations “either weren't advancing or were progressing in the wrong direction”.