Businesses and consumers in the UK are growing gloomier leading up to the October 31st Brexit deadline.

As the Brexit deadline nears, France is even running customs rehearsals to prepare officers for the new regulations that will be imposed on British exports after a hard Brexit. British ministers came to the border crossing at Calais on Friday to observe. France has gone so far as to hire new customs officers and institute new technologies to expedite the process. Once Brexit is complete, British borders will become like any border between an EU and non-EU country. This means that British imports into the EU will be treated as imports from any other country, which will cause more thorough inspections and more documentation. Right now the French goal is to accommodate Brexit by mitigating the damage done to international trade. Hard checks at UK borders are expected to increase wait times significantly and harm the flow of goods between the UK and EU.

At the moment, French efforts to prepare for a hard border with the UK aren’t enough to relax British consumers and business owners. Surveys conducted on Friday revealed that consumer confidence is falling. At the same time, the Lloyds Bank business barometer slid to 1% in August, down from 13% a month ago. This is the lowest the barometer has reached since 2011. Furthermore, a research note from Citi Group predicted a 25% hit to earnings in the case of a no-deal Brexit.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that he’s trying to make a deal with the EU to stave off the worst economic effects of Brexit. To do so, the UK plans on having two meetings with the EU per week as they try to work out a deal.