MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A new wave of demonstrations hit France on Tuesday when the Socialist government used a rarely-used clause to bypass a vote in the lower-house National Assembly on a bill that will relax hiring and firing rules, in a bid to curb the rising unemployment.
Clashes between riot police and anti-reform demonstrators erupted outside the parliament building in the French capital, where the Assembly is preparing to hold a vote of no confidence in the government, Le Monde newspaper reported.
#manif12mai La démocratie sociale selon #Valls et le gouvernement? Des méthodes d'extrême droite! #LoiTravail pic.twitter.com/2B6YnT0B4X
— Thomas Portes (@thomasportesPCF) May 12, 2016
Between 3,000 and 12,000 rallied in Toulouse, according to estimates provided respectively by trade unions and police. Thousands more protested in Rennes, Grenoble, and Bordeaux.
#manif12mai #Nantes #LoiTravail Les manifestants divisés en petit groupe. Course poursuite avec la police pic.twitter.com/PcgKkPJtKB
— FranceBleuLoireOcéan (@bleuloireocean) May 12, 2016
Paris: Loi-Travail, des manifestants tentent d'entrer dans les Invalides #LoiTravail https://t.co/DusrhfRYXf pic.twitter.com/zOhePwA0mb
— Pierre S. (@FrDesouche) May 12, 2016
If Thursday's no-confidence vote succeeds, the government of Francois Hollande will have to step down and repeal the bill or else it will go before the Senate.
