France is seriously trying to get rid of the biggest drag on its economy

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Tens of thousands of the French workers protest as the Unions in France launch new strikes against the pension reform plan on October 28, 2010 in Marseille, France.

Investors and international institutions often criticize France for its rigid labor market and how that’s a drag on its economic performance. But that’s about to change, the former governor of the Bank of France told CNBC.

“I frankly think that apart from the U.K., in three, four months from now, France will have the more flexible labor market in Europe,” Christian Noyer, honorary governor of the French central bank told CNBC on the sidelines of the Europlace conference in Paris on Tuesday.

“That will be a great achievement, it’s really a game changer,” he added.

In the first hours of his presidency, Emmanuel Macron said he would push for a decentralization of collective bargaining to individual company level, so companies are more free and negotiate with their own workers. France’s new premier, Edouard Philippe also vowed a summer of “intense consultations” with trade unions to pave the way for a labor market reform bill in September.