French labour reform to be launched "very quickly", Macron told cabinet

French President Emmanuel Macron waits for a guest on the steps at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 16, 2017. REUTERS/Yoan Valat/Pool

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron told his first cabinet meeting on Thursday that labour reform will be one of his priorities and would be carried out swiftly, the government's spokesman said. "The labour reform must be launched very quickly," said government spokesman Christophe Castaner. Macron had said during the election campaign that he intended to use executive decrees as soon as this summer to reform labour laws in a country where unemployment remains high at 9.6 percent. (Reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by Ingrid Melander)