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“The UK is considering ‘managed divergence’ from EU rules, which the 27 will reject. A better strategy would be to remain in the customs union and single market for goods,” wrote John Springford and Sam Lowe at the Centre for European Reform.

“I think he [Macron] has - unwittingly or not - softened France’s position on future relationship,” Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, said on Twitter. “UK can have a deal that is between full access to single market and a trade accord and this can include financial services.”

Speaking last year at a Centre for European Reform event in Brussels shortly after the EU’s chief negotiator, Lord Mandelson said many Brexiteers wanted to move out of Europe’s sphere of influence and would be “very happy for Britain to become a regulatory satellite of the US” in the future. He said: “There is a political stand-off in the Cabinet between soft leavers and clean breakers and as a result, Mrs May is unable to get agreement to the negotiating guidelines that she needs for any future trade deal.

“This could easily result in a scenario in which UK exporters are no longer able to take advantage of the EU’s existing free trade agreements, but exporters located in countries with EU FTAs would continue to benefit from preferential access to the UK market on the same terms as now,” wrote Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform.

Britain is offering helicopters to help transport French troops deployed in the Sahel to fight Islamist terror networks — a welcome addition for France's military, which is undergoing spending cuts, said analyst Sophia Besch of the CER. "France is very keen to get other European partners on board to support it in its operations in Africa, in the Sahel," she said. "You can hear sometimes French officials say that, yes there is an EU army, and it's French.' So, there is this sense that the other Europeans need to step up, that all this responsibility can't just be on France. And if the UK is willing to do it, then that's great."

But think-tank boss Charles Grant said that Germany will not let Juncker get away with his “delusional” EU vision, which includes allowing the richer northern Europe to pay for the poorer areas of southern Europe. Mr Grant, who is the Director of the Centre for European Reform, told BBC Radio 4: “[Juncker] believes that the Eurozone, in order to survive, needs to federalise. “That you need to have more integrated policy making system so that the richer countries, mainly Germany, transfer money to help the poorer countries like Italy and Greece and help them to flourish inside the eurozone.”