Protests planned this week against President Macron’s key employment law reforms have been given additional impetus after he appeared to suggest that French workers opposing them are simply lazy.

Critics seized upon the remark to describe Mr Macron, a former merchant banker, as arrogant and out of touch with the concerns of ordinary families. Unions hope the row will bolster tomorrow’s nationwide protest marches against the labour law package.

Mr Macron’s reforms are designed to weaken unions and to give new powers to employers. In a speech in Athens on Friday, he underlined his determination to drive through a package he sees as vital in the struggle to reduce unemployment from 9.5 per cent to 7 per cent over the next five years. “I will