President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday vowed to press ahead with his government's programme to transform France, adding public order must be restored after months of protests.
"The transformations that are in progress and the transformations that are essential for our country should not be stopped," Macron said in his first solo news conference at the Elysee Palace. He vowed that after almost half a year of sometimes violent "yellow vest" protests against his rule, "today, above all, public order will return and with it an essential accord" in French society.