France open to short 'technical' Brexit extension: minister

France said Tuesday it was open to a "technical" Brexit extension of "several days" but ruled out reopening discussions to renegotiate the deal reached between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brussels.

"At the end of the week, we will see if a purely technical extension of several days is justified in order for the British parliament to finish its parliamentary procedure," European Affairs Minister Amelie de Montchalin told the French Senate on Tuesday evening.

"Beyond such a perspective, an extension aimed at gaining time to rediscuss the deal is excluded," she said hours after British MPs rejected Johnson's bid to set a tight three-day schedule to approve his Brexit bill this week.