French President Emmanuel Macron has been blasted by politicians and the public alike for describing opponents of his highly controversial labour reforms as "lazy". For his part, Philippe Martinez, the head of the CGT union, called Macron's comments "scandalous". The CGT union, one of France's biggest, has asked civil servants, rail and transport workers as well as students to observe the strike. The centrist Macron, 39, is hoping to avoid a repeat of the months-long, sometimes violent protests unleashed by labour reforms pushed through last year by his Socialist predecessor Francois Hollande. On the other hand, discontent over the labour reforms could morph into more general dissatisfaction with Macron, he warned.

Source: The Local September 11, 2017 10:52 UTC