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French unions stage last-ditch resistance against labor law

“We’re not going to have another wave of demonstrations but there are other ways of fighting the labour law”, Jean-Claude Mailly, head of the Force Ouvriere union, told French public TV channel France 2.

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In May, a video emerged of a protestors setting fire to a police vehicle close to Place de la Republique as two officers sat inside.

Unions say it will undermine high standards of labor protection as well as their ability to represent workers, notably in small firms where it will give employers more muscle to strike lower-standard deals on issues such as overtime pay.

The nationwide turnout on Thursday was, however, far lower than at the start of the rallies six months ago, when they brought hundreds of thousands of people on to the streets.

Numerous demonstrations were scarred by clashes between protesters and riot police.

PARIS-Protesters took to the streets across France on Thursday for fresh demonstrations against the Socialist government’s labor reforms, although opposition to the measures appeared to be running out of steam.

During the most recent protest on July 5, tens of thousands of demonstrators turned out, a number that paled in comparison to the hundreds of thousands who protested on March 31.

Alstom announced that would close the plant and move production 200 kilometers (120 miles) north.

It is the 14th major, national protest against labour reform which aims to make the labour market more flexible and put a dent in France’s high unemployment, which is now running at just over 10 percent, officially. The action prompted aviation authorities to advise airlines serving Paris airports to cancel 15 percent of their flights on Thursday.

A series of strikes and huge protests against the law earlier this year frustrated tourists and stained France’s image and that of President Francois Hollande’s government.

Protests against the labor reform continue despite the legislation having already been adopted by Parliament this summer.

But Unions say it damages hard-won worker rights.

The violence unleashed by the reforms peaked on Jun 14, just four days after the start of the Euro 2016 football championships in France, when around 40 people were hurt and dozens arrested.

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Hollande, who has yet to announce whether he will seek re-election next year, had hoped for a signature reform to boost his dire approval ratings.

Masked protesters clash with French riot police as they take part in a march against the new French labour law Sept. 15 2016