Protesters fail to deter Hollande on reforms
Print Edition
FRENCH President Francois Hollande vowed yesterday to stick with his controversial attempts to reform the labor market, even as a new round of violent protests broke out.
Police fired tear gas in central Paris as an initially peaceful protest organized by unions and students was disrupted by a more radical fringe.
The labor reforms have sparked two months of protests on France’s streets and led to an unsuccessful attempt to bring down the government.
But Hollande said the battle against unemployment was not yet won and he placed the need to reform over his personal popularity, despite his possible bid for re-election next year. “I will not give way because too many (previous) governments have backed down,” Hollande said in an hour-long interview with Europe 1 radio.
“I prefer that people have an image of a president who made reforms rather than a president who did nothing.”
Masked youths
Police were quick to act as violence caused by masked youths broke out during a march by thousands of people through central Paris, kicking off another week of nationwide strikes and demonstrations against the package of reforms.
Truck drivers blocked roads and ports in northern and western France, and there were also clashes between protesters and police in the western cities of Nantes and Rennes, where thousands more had taken to the streets.
“We have been ignored, so we will work even harder to make our voices heard,” said Philippe Martinez, head of the CGT union, at the Paris rally.
The government argues the changes contained in the draft law will make France’s notoriously rigid labor market more flexible, but opponents say it will erode job security and do little to bring down unemployment.
Hollande has pledged to decide by the end of this year whether to stand for re-election next May, but he said yesterday he saw “no alternative” to himself on the left of French politics.
“If I am not there... if the left is not re-elected, the right or the extreme-right will win,” he said.
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