In an effort to put an end to a wave of violent protests which has plagued his nation over the past two months, French President Emmanuel Macron has offered to engage ordinary voters in a vast national public debate over the country's future economic and social priorities.

"I believe deeply that the big debate is the best way to bring French people back together and bring them back to the negotiating table," Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire - a close Macron associate - told the local media. The demonstrators, he claimed, "are only a minority, yet it is the majority that ultimately decides".