Alwaght- Police in France have clashed with protesters and deployed tear gas in several French cities as thousands of people took to the streets to continue demonstrations against labor reforms.
Demonstrators marched through clouds of tear gas as they marched through the streets of several French cities, including Nantes, Lyon, Rennes, and Paris.
Protests also took place in Paris, with police deploying tear gas on demonstrators. The protests disrupted commuter traffic and led to the cancelation of flights at Orly airport.
Demonstrations have rejected labor law reforms since they were put forward by the government. Known as the El Khomri law, after Labor Minister Myriam El Khomri, the new laws would revise much of France’s labor code. The government says the reforms – which focus on fighting unemployment by loosening protections on France's 35-hour work week and layoffs, and reducing overtime bonuses – will help curb the country's high unemployment rate. Protesters and workers' unions, however, say the government wants to make it easier and less costly for employers to lay off workers.
France's unemployment rate hit a record high last month, pushing jobless numbers to 3.591 million people, according to the Labor Ministry.
Student groups say the reform – championed by France’s Socialist government as a measure to tackle stubbornly high 10 percent unemployment – will only increase job insecurity for young people.
The protests spawned a new youth-led movement called “Nuit Debout” (Up All Night), which has seen advocates of a broad spectrum of causes gather in city squares at night for the past four weeks to demand change.
The fallout from the bill has exacerbated the decline in public support for the government. Surveys indicate that President Hollande’s approval ratings, already at historic lows before February, have now dropped to just 15 percent.
