Edouard Philippe

President Emmanuel Macron's government has begun its drive to overhaul France's rigid labour laws, vowing to "free up the energy of the workforce".

The reforms aim to make it easier for bosses to hire and fire.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said they were ambitious, balanced and fair but it was natural that not everyone would support the changes.

French President Emmanuel Macron's popularity rating slumped a further 14 points in August to hit 40 percent, following a sharp 10-point drop the previous month, according to a poll released on Aug. 27.

French police shot and arrested a man on Wednesday suspected of deliberately ramming his car into a group of soldiers in a Parisian suburb hours earlier, injuring six of them in what the government called a deliberate attack.

A man has been shot and arrested by elite police officers on a motorway in northern France is the key suspect after a driver slammed his BMW into soldiers in Paris, injuring six of them in what appeared to be a carefully timed ambush before speeding away, reported The Independent. 

Local residents joined firefighters in southern France on July 26 to battle blazes that have forced over 10,000 people to flee and left chunks of coastal forest a blackened mess.

In some places, locals used spades, rakes and even tree branches in a desperate bid to beat back the flames until the firefighters arrived.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has named a group of relative unknowns to senior government cabinet posts over traditional allies after a series of high-profile resignations.

As a spokesman announced the names of ministers appointed, political analysts said many voters would be left asking: “Who?”

A man who rammed a car into a police van in Paris stored a cache of weapons at his home and held a gun permit despite being on a secret service list of people linked to radical Islam, police sources and French officials said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

French President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party swept to a large majority in parliamentary elections on June 18, although it fell short of a predicted landslide.

French voters have put President Emmanuel Macron's party on course for a crushing parliamentary majority, though a record low turnout in the first round of voting raised concerns on June 12 over the strength of his future mandate.

Support for French President Emmanuel Macron's new centrist party is growing before legislative elections next month, a poll found on May 18, raising the chances that he will be able to win parliamentary backing for his reform plans.