Clashes erupt in Paris, as police break up anti-labour reform protests

Record ID: 101901

  • Title: Clashes erupt in Paris, as police break up anti-labour reform protests
  • Date: 26th May 2016
  • Summary: ***WARNING CONTAINS NUDITY*** NAKED MAN STANDING IN CROWD WITH PHOTOGRAPHERS TAKING PICTURES
  • Embargoed: 10th June 2016 16:56
  • Keywords: Myriam El Khomri labour reform Francois Hollande CGT union
  • Location: PARIS, FRANCE
  • City: PARIS, FRANCE
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Lawmaking,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0024JG4I13
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: PLEASE NOTE THIS EDIT CONTAINS NUDITY IN SHOT 18
    Police and protesters clashed in Paris on Thursday (May 26) during anti-labour reform rallies while the hardline CGT union sought to choke off fuel supplies in a showdown with a government that said it would not back down.
    Protesters threw objects such as rocks and glass bottles at police who responded with large amounts of tear gas to disperse the crowd.
    Sixteen people were arrested in Paris where 18,000-19,000 marched according to police, far fewer than in the first protests against the labour law over the past three months.
    The next big day of protests is planned on June 14, four days after the Euro 2016 football tournament opens in France. The CGT warned it could be disrupted if the government refuses to withdraw the draft reform bill.
    As turnout at protests has dwindled, the CGT has turned to sectoral strikes, with workers stopping work at oil refineries, nuclear power plants and the railways, as well as erecting road blocks and burning wooden pallets and tyres at key ports like Le Havre and near distribution hubs.
    Prime Minister Manuel Valls said the government would not withdraw the law and would break up refinery blockades, saying there could be some tweaks to the reforms but not on any of its key planks. He was backed by the country's other big trade union, the CFDT.
    The government pushed the bill through the lower house of parliament with a decree as it struggled to find enough lawmakers to back it. The final vote is expected in July.
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