Emmanuel Macron is set to take on the country’s formidable unions in a bid to make France’s employment regulations less rigid.
Keen to deliver on one of his major election pledges, the under-fire president knows any failure would leave his reputation in tatters – but that success would alienate his left-wing supporters.
And with Poland lashing out against similar attempts to change employment rules in the European Union (EU), Mr Macron is fighting a desparate battle on two fronts.
Political scientist Frederic Dabi warned this weekend Mr Macron needed “to be careful” as he tackled France’s unions – an opponent which has overpowered many former leaders.
Mr Dabi said: “With Macron’s popularity at such a low and the honeymoon period now gone, he has to be careful not to cause major disappointment.
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“It’s important the he and his government don’t do anything that leaves people with a feeling of injustice. He cannot risk losing the moderate left, the Hollande supporters who fuelled his election, and he has to have a good communication strategy to explain where he is taking the French.
“We cannot forget that he got only 24% of the vote in the first round [of the presidential election]. This could rapidly coalesce into widespread discontent with him and the government. Now is the hard part and we cannot say for sure what will happen. It’s a case of wait and see.”
The bitter back-and-forth with Poland, meanwhile, was sparked by Mr Macron’s attempts to reform not just France’s employment regulations but also Europe’s.
Under current EU legislation, firms are able to send temporary workers, known as ‘posted workers’, from low-wage countries to richer nations without having to pay their local social charges.
However, the French president is demanding changes are made and is using fears about the possible collapse of the Brussels bloc to scare EU members into backing his proposals.
This has angered Warsaw, who repeatedly hit out at the French president last week.
Polish foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski said: “The French economy is not at the moment able to compete with the vibrant economies of many European countries, including Poland.
“This is because French workers have enormous social benefits. The working week for many French workers is four, five working days.”
He also accused Mr Macron of failing to “understand” Poland, claiming the president “doesn’t know what is happening in this part of Europe”.