France's Macron to host 'Big 3' euro zone leaders for talks

Emmanuel Macron will host other major European leaders this month for talks on migration, the economy and defence -- part of a broader diplomatic offensive by the French president.

His popularity waning at home, Macron will hold talks with Germany's Angela Merkel, Spain's Mariano Rajoy and Italy's Paolo Gentiloni on Aug 28, a French official said on Tuesday.

Sources in the three other countries confirmed the meeting.

Macron is also due to meet Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on August 31.

He will also visit Austria, Romania and Bulgaria from August 23-25, when he will press for better protection for French workers from what they see as unfair labour competition from the EU's poorer states.

Since a landslide presidential election victory in May and a successful parliamentary campaign in June, Macron's popularity ratings have started to slide, impacted by tough debates in parliament over labour reform and a public ethics law, a standoff with the military and cuts to housing assistance.

A YouGov poll published at the start of August showed 36 percent of voters held a favourable view of the 39-year-old, a fall of 7 points on the previous month and matching the downward trend seen in other surveys.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)