France says EU must avoid British exit, not at any price

Davos (Switzerland) (AFP) - France said Thursday that a British exit from the European Union would be a tragedy, but warned that Britain's demands for reform could not be met at any price.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has said he wants a deal on his EU reform demands by February so that he can campaign to stay in the bloc ahead of a referendum on membership, which he has promised to hold by the end of 2017.

A British EU exit would be "a very bad thing," French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told reporters at an annual gathering of billionaires and political leaders in the snow-blanketed Swiss ski resort of Davos, where discussions have turned to the spectre of a so-called Brexit.

"There needs to be a deal, but not at any price," the French prime minister said .... http://news.yahoo.com