The giant British retailer Marks & Spencer has shut down 11 of its stores across France, citing supply chain issues and pointing the finger of blame directly at Brexit and the British government.
“It’s a bad sign for Britain’s economy and also a really bad sign for Paris, which already has a blight of empty stores after COVID,” said journalist Dana Thomas, speaking from Saint-Tropez, about the Thursday decision, which has sparked anger from French nationals across the country.
“I’m just amazed. It’s a sign that the world has been turned upside down,” The Wall Street Journal’s Matthew Dalton added. “Where the French are complaining about the inability of Britain to export its food to France. It’s a blow for Paris and a blow for the U.K… a completely self-inflicted wound.”
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The Marks & Spencer ordeal is just the latest issue in a long list of post-Brexit dramas sweeping Europe. And the worst could be yet to come.
“It’s actually really bad and the shops here do have big empty shelves…” said The Daily Beast’s Nico Hines, speaking from London. “What most of them aren’t saying is, ‘it’s because of Brexit, you idiot voters who voted for it.’ And it will get worse and worse and worse.”
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