The French leader claimed that the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign had been based around exaggerations and promises that would never materialize He urged people to remember what lies could lead to in democracies PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday described Britain’s exit from the EU after 47 years as “a very sad day.” In a televised address a few hours before the UK officially left, he also warned that the move by one of the EU’s key members sent out an “historic alarm signal.” The French leader claimed that the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign had been based around exaggerations and promises that would never materialize and urged people to remember what lies could lead to in democracies. Macron said Europe now needed more than ever to face up to China and the US and pointed out that Brexit was “a shock that should make us think.” During the broadcast, he added that nothing would change for British residents in France and he reassured the French people that their interests would be kept in mind in negotiations between the 27 EU member states and the UK over the next 11 months. “There will be a simple rule; the partnership that we will build with the United Kingdom won’t be the same we had since decades. It is not possible to be at the same time in and out of the EU.” However, the president repeated many times that he wanted to maintain very close relations with London. “The French people know what they owe to the British people during World War II,” he said, adding that he would visit Britain soon to keep up bilateral relations.