Macron wants special relationship with UK post-Brexit but EU unity is key

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday he wanted the European Union to reach a deal with Britain on Brexit before the end of the year, but that his priority remained the preservation of the bloc's unity.

"France wants to maintain a strong, special relationship with London but not if the cost is the European Union's unraveling," Macron told his ambassadors in a speech outlining his diplomatic priorities for the year ahead.

Brexit, Macron said, "is a sovereign choice, which we must respect, but it can't come at the expense of the European Union's integrity."

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