13 August 2016, 23:52 GMT
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday that he does not rule out holding the European Union membership referendum if he won the election.
"I don’t rule out the referendum by design. But the solution for the problems in Europe isn’t the referendum. One should not put themselves on chair, shouting “referendum”!" Sarkozy told French BFMTV broadcaster in an interview.
Earlier in September, France’s National Front (FN) leader Marine Le Pen, another presidential candidate, promised to hold a referendum on France's membership of the European Union if she won the 2017 elections.
According to the poll conducted shortly after the UK decision on Brexit, 52 percent of the French said that Brexit was negative for the European Union. According to the same poll, 55 percent of the French respondents were not ready to repeat Britain's move.
