Speaking yesterday, he said: "France is not a country that can be reformed. Many have tried, and failed, because the French hate reform.

"If they find a loophole that allows them to avoid implementing reforms, they will exploit it. The general population hates the idea of change."

He made the comments during a speech addressed to the French expatriate community in Bucharest, Romania.

The president added: "It is therefore the government's duty to explain reform, and to tell citizens why they are being implemented. People need reassurance, they need to know whether their country is going in the right direction."

The French, he added, have incredibly high aspirations and expectations, but are, as a nation, non-conformist.

Mr Macron said: "The French expect a profound transformation ... but France is a country that is only truly itself once it takes on challenges that are bigger than itself.

"The French are not interested in adopting reforms that will allow the country to meet fixed benchmarks... Our country isn't like that.

"Citizens need to know that the social and economic reforms being imposed on them will deeply transform France, that they will enable France to fulfill its destiny as a major European power and as a beacon of universalism. Because those are the things the French believe are worth fighting for."

He added: "France will be transformed. Because voters made the slightly mad choice to back a new political movement and elected a wildcard as president. France will, in the near future, become the voice of the free world."

"The directive on detached workers in its current form is a betrayal of the European spirit. The aim of the common European market and free movement of labor is not to favour countries which least promote social rights. As we have seen in our country, this feeds populism and erodes confidence in the European project."
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Mr Macron was once viewed as the EU golden boy due to the pro-European manifesto he presented during the electoral campaign to the Élysée. He has however become increasingly critical of the bloc, especially in regards to labor-related regulation. His attempts at reforming the EU have been met with stern criticism from some of the Eastern European politicians he would need to achieve his goals.