Brexit: EU leaders plan for no deal as other options dissolve

EU leaders used to use the threat of a no-deal Brexit as a negotiating tactic (as did the UK). They now believe it to be a very real prospect. That has led to a number of countries - notably France - questioning the logic of delaying Brexit for much longer. They wonder if the UK will ever unite around a Brexit Way Forward - be it a softer Brexit, no deal or no Brexit. Would a Brexit extension, allowing for a general election or a second referendum, really settle the issue, they ask? Or will the EU and UK end up in a no deal scenario anyway, after countless extra months of agonising (and costly) uncertainty?