Well, you did here it first, but this blog doesn't have quite the same prestige as the French President who is
conveying to Mr Cameron that he has no chance of renegotiating the EU treaties and completing the process in time to have a referendum in time for the end of 2017.
I've lost count of the number of times I've written this on the blog, which all goes to prove that news is not news until the legacy media decides to quote someone saying it.
Nevertheless, just because the Telegraph has to wait for an approved source to say something for they acknowledge it doesn't change the fact that there never could be a 2017 referendum under the terms stated by Mr Cameron, making the Open Europe Muppets just as wrong as they ever have been and the People's Pledge advocacy a complete waste of time.
As to the detail, it appears that Mr Hollande didn't bother to speak directly to the British prime minister by let his officials "pour scorn" on suggestions that "treaty change" can be achieved for a referendum. It was, they said, "very, very unlikely" before 2017.
An official then added, "This doesn’t mean we won't one day require treaties to be revised for the requirements of economic monetary union, but it is very, very unlikely this will be compatible with the British political calendar".
So, there it is from the deputy horse's mouth – the referendum is a non-starter. I will of course, take much more than this before the paper as a corporate entity finally gets the message, and even longer for the Conservative Party and Mr Cameron's supporters, but at least they've started down the road towards the realisation that they have been sold a pup.