Emmanuel Macron

The popularity of French President Emmanuel Macron has reached a new low in August with 40% approval. This is a drop of 14 points a month after the record, minus 10 points in July, said Bgnes, quoting studies by Iphop and Jurnal du dimanche. Macron Government Prime Minister Edouard Philip also recorded a nine-point retreat for the same period, dropping from 56% to 47% approval.

His wife Brigitte lamented her wrinkles compared with his "freshness" over the breakfast table, but Emmanuel Macron's youthful looks come at a price: €26,000 in three months.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said on Friday that a European Union directive on posted workers should seek a balance between the older and the newer members of the bloc, reported Reuters. 

The heads of state of France and Bulgaria - Emmanuel Macron and Rumen Radev - were welcomed at an official ceremony by the Bulgarian navy's guard of honour in front of Evksinograd palace near Varna.

A face-to-face meeting began after the ceremony.

On his brief stop-over in Romania on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macro did not secure any promises from Romania to buy French military equipment, representatives of weapon and aircraft manufacturers who accompanied the delegation said on Thursday.

On August 25, Evksinograd Palace in Varna, head of state Rumen Radev and Prime Minister Boyko Borisov will hold talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, reported BGNES.

The ceremony of welcoming the President of the French Republic is at 10.00 am in front of the Palace of Evksinograd, followed by an official photograph of the two presidents and their wives.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday the European Union's directive on "posted workers" had to be clarified and improved, according to Reuters.

Europe has very high expectations of Emmanuel Macron's presidency in France, because the bloc is in desperate need of a counterbalance to Germany's hegemony.

But, in order for France to play a leading role in Europe, to become a policy leader, it needs to implement bold reforms that will improve its economy and make it more competitive.

Macron and Iohannis will have a one-on-one meeting to hold official talks at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace, and afterwards they will hold a joint news conference, Agerpress reported.

In a letter to Minister of Labour and Social Policy Biser Petkov, the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) in Bulgaria supports the proposal by the European Commission, set down in Directive 96/71/EC regarding the posting of workers, for replacing the words ''minimum rates of pay'' by ''remuneration''.