David Cameron has been privately told by the French president that his country will not go out of its way to help him win key “reforms” of the European Union ahead of a referendum on UK membership.
Francois Hollande has warned the Prime Minister that France will not agree to concessions being made by the rest of the EU just to help his own domestic “agenda,” The Sunday Telegraph has learned.
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Mr Hollande’s tough stance, spelled out privately in the “margins” of official meetings in Paris, Brussels, Northern Ireland and elsewhere - is an opening play in a high-stakes game of diplomatic poker.