Protests as France welcomes business leaders for investment summit

Demonstrators scuffled with police outside an investment gathering near Paris where nearly 200 international business leaders met the French president.

Emmanuel Macron hosted the annual event amid the royal splendor of the Palace of Versailles.

The summit came after weeks of anti-government protests against planned pension reforms and there were further demonstrations at the summit.

The protesters argued that Macron should focus on those less well-off in society rather than big business.

"Everything he does is for the bosses," said Elisabeth Lopez.

"He works for the rich, the super-rich. With all the money he's handed over to the rich he could have funded the pension system. The problem is that he gives it to the rich and not to the poor."

Protesters in Versailles Photo: Philippe LOPEZ / AFP

The French president says that the country is moving forward because of the reforms he is making.

But although he brought the business leaders away from Paris to Versailles, he could not escape the protests against the changes he is implementing.

"We've come to check that they're not selling the Château de Versailles to BlackRock, given that he's capable of selling our pensions to BlackRock, we wonder if he's not going to sell the Château as well to one of his buddies," said railway worker Eric Bezou.

The French leader underlined his belief that the changes his government has made in the workplace are for the better.

"The measures we've introduced have made it possible to relaunch investment and the production of wealth," Macron argued.

"We also lowered the cost of labor, we are training better, we have invested, we have reformed apprenticeships. We are creating an environment in France that is more competitive in terms of work.”

The "Choose France!" summit is a chance to drum up investment in France and there was a focus on Monday on jobs, multi-million-dollar deals and foreign investment.

Several agreements were announced in the run-up to the meeting which saw top executives from the likes of Google, Netflix, Toyota and Samsung attend.

Drug manufacturer AstraZeneca will invest $500 million over five years and Coca-Cola said it would invest $1.1 billion by 2025.

The French presidency also unveiled agreements with shipping firm MSC, which will have two cruise ships built in France guaranteeing 2,400 jobs for more than three years.