BLUSTERING Boris Johnson blew up the Tories’ diplomatic dispute with France yesterday by claiming creative people are fleeing the “crazed socialist” country, writes Luke James.

The London mayor ramped-up the French-bashing rhetoric on LBC Radio after Chancellor George Osborne used last week’s Budget to attack the French economy.

Mr Osborne hoped to put people off voting Labour but has been condemned for mentioning the battle of Agincourt more times than the NHS.

French Environment Minister Segolene Royal said she was surprised by the “spiteful and inappropriate” attack during a visit to London on Monday.

“When a country like the UK is facing difficulty, we don’t make fun,” the Socialist MP told Newsnight.

“In your country your budget deficit is much greater than it is in France, we don’t have take pleasure from it.”

But in a bid to outdo his Tory leadership rival, Mr Johnson declared “huge numbers of talented French people fleeing France at the moment because it’s a crazed socialist, 1970s version of a European economy.”

France’s last budget included €50 billion (£40bn) in spending cuts.