Jacques Myard, the Republican mayor of Maisons-Lafitte, lambasted the idea of free movement and open borders between member states of the European Union.
He called for a more “realistic” approach to border controls before bashing the “many aspects” of the EU, which he felt were not “functioning properly”.
The politician told Ruptly TV: “There is a good idea of cooperation in the Schengen agreement, but we should restore the internal control at our borders to prevent people to smuggle [people] in.
“And this is why I do believe that the Schengen agreement should be revisited on a more, let’s say, realistic basis than this utopian principle of having a free zone without any control at the internal frontiers, at the internal borders.”
Mr Myard said EU states were starting to “face reality” during the scathing attack on the bloc.
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He said: “Even France because of the terrorist attack has restored very quick control at our borders, especially in the airports and also at the land borders.
“So it shows that step by step the European states are recognising, are facing reality as it is and not as a dream of the past.”
But the politician admitted he was “very pessimistic” about the future of the bloc.
He said: “It is very true that today not only Schengen but many aspects of the European construction are not functioning properly and this is why I’m very pessimistic on the future of Europe.”
The comments came as Brexit Secretary David Davis went into the third round of exit talks to free the UK from its ties with Brussels.
But the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier revealed on Thursday that Britain and the EU had made virtually no progress in the Brexit talks.
During a heated press conference briefing, the Frenchman accused the British of rejecting his proposals for a Brexit bill and trying to undermine his negotiating mandate.
After days of round-table talks with the Brexit Secretary, Mr Barnier said: “The single market and the EU capacity to regulate, supervise and enforce our laws must not be and will not be undermined by Brexit.”