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PARIS. — French police arrested at least 15 people in Paris yesterday as student groups and unions once again marched against contested labour reforms.
Thousands of people rallied in the French capital and across the country as unions and student groups refused to yield in a months-long labour row.
Law enforcement authorities said that “several hundred masked individuals” had thrown objects at riot police shortly after the march started in the south of Paris.
The French police reported that 26 people had been injured in the clashes, including a few officers.
Dozens of store-front windows, bus stops and advertising panels were vandalised on Blvd. Raspail and Blvd Montparnasse in the upscale 15th district of the capital.
Police used a water cannon to disperse a minority of radical, black-clad protesters near the Necker Children’s Hospital, after some of its windows were shattered and sprayed with slogans.
There were some reports that protesting union members had also been targeted by violent activists after trying to defend the respected medical institution.
Yesterday’s protests were only the latest in a series going back to early March.
Unions have repeatedly called on workers to strike over what they say is the Socialist government’s bid to dismantle existing labour laws.
President François Hollande has pushed for flexibility in firing practices, work hours and overtime pay, arguing that a rigid system has prevented private firms from hiring more employees.
Unions and student unions have decried reforms they say weaken job security and will only increase unemployment. — France24.
Online Reporter