BREXIT wasn’t a big talking point when members of the Horndean Twinning Association visited their French counterparts in May.

But proceedings tomorrow will be watched closely by our Gallic cousins, especially as the French seem equally divided on whether Britain should stay or bid “adieu” to the European Union.

“To be frank, at a very local level they do not care about Brexit,” said Sophie Primas, who is definitely taking an interest as the Mayor of Aubergenville is also a senator in the French Parliament.

Her Yvelines department is the country’s ninth most populous with 1.5million people while her party, the Sarkozy-led Groupe Les Republicains, controls the Upper Senate.

“It’s very different in my case as politicians are quite divided. A lot of people are making references to Charles de Gaulle and a lot are saying: ‘if they want to leave, then let them go because they don’t want to be in Europe.’

“They also say that Britain is closer to the US and we give them a lot of money so what is the problem if we let them go?

“That’s not my point of view. I think what we need now is more Europe and not less and it’s not possible to do more if we leave Great Britain behind.”

While she believes Britain’s contribution – especially financial – will be key to the future of the EU, she does accept that terms need to be “reinvented”. She can also understand why many Britons want to leave as immigration has become a sore point for many people in her town close to the outskirts of Paris.

“A lot of people here are unhappy with the Polish because quite a few are coming here and not doing any work,” she added.

“I think you’ve got the same problem.”