France's Macron tells global CEOs: we're open for business

France's president is taking on the role of salesman in chief for his strike-battered country.

Emmanuel Macron used the splendor of the Palace of Versailles to woo international business leaders on Monday, insisting that his reforms are attracting investors despite six weeks of crippling protests and walkouts over his plan to overhaul the retirement system.

Driving home the message that the eurozone's second-largest economy remains open for business, Macron's government announced a 2 billion-euro (USD 2.2 billion) contract for the French shipyard of Saint-Nazaire on the Atlantic coast. It will build two cruise ships for the company MSC, representing some 2,400 jobs over three years.

MSC confirmed plans to build other ships in France for another 4 billion euros (USD 4.4 billion).

"Good news doesn't arrive out of nowhere. It comes because we are implementing reforms, because our country is moving, mobilizing," Macron said.

"I know that our heads are being filled with bad news and that we're led to believe that everything is going to explode. But it's not true."