Tear Gas in Paris: Police Clash With Crowd Protesting Labor Reforms

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.

​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.

​​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.