Gangs of rioters threw stones and smoke grenades at low enforcement officers in central Paris where a mass protest against the French president's new labor initiative took place. Police responded with tear gas in effort to dis[erse the young men wearing black clothes who chanted insulting slogans.
Happening now: #Paris #BlackBloc clash with police forces. #LoiTravail #Greve12septembre #manif12sept pic.twitter.com/FSHPoIPydX
— th1an1 (@th1an1) September 12, 2017
Tensions au niveau de Campo Formio à Paris. #manif12septembre #LoiTravailXXL pic.twitter.com/6dbRPHwUgS
— Citoyen Lambda (@cit_lambda) September 12, 2017
Premiers débordement. Panneaux publicitaires et agences bancaires caillassées. #Grève12Septembre #Paris pic.twitter.com/SJ2bLQhwRO
— Raphaël MAILLOCHON (@Raph_journalist) September 12, 2017
The dark-clothed protesters also crashed glasses in the buildings and painted over the lenses of street surveillance cameras on the boulevard along which the crowds were marching.
#manif12sept Paris rue campo Formio. Les bruits de canon lacrymo Place Italie retentissent malgré les sonos pic.twitter.com/gcgVQ5VMEU
— Catherine Gasté (@catherinegaste) September 12, 2017
#manif12sept #manif12septembre #Greve12Septembre#Manif12sept #loiTravail #Paris #manifestation#Paris pic.twitter.com/jsscQEzmTr
— actu-jour (@lempnde) September 12, 2017
Earlier, several thousand opponents of French President Emmanuel Macron's labor legislation reform gathered for the rally in Paris. Thousands of people have also rallied against the labor code reform in other French cities including Lyon, Nice and Marseille, local media report.
France's second-largest trade union organized a protest in Paris against the government-proposed labor reform. Thousands of protesters took to the streets in defiance of the labor code changes.
Around 60,000 protesters have taken part in the strike against the French government-proposed labor reform, a representative of France's second-largest trade union General Confederation of Labour (CGT) told Sputnik on Tuesday.
"According to our data, the demonstration in Paris was attended by 60,000 people," the CGT headquarters representative said.
According to the local police, the rally gathered around 24,000 people in Paris.
On August 31, the French government announced a plan to reform labor regulations in an effort to give employers more freedom and stimulate the economy. The reform will cover both urgent and indefinite contracts for hiring, dismissal procedures, as well as other labor relationships subject to the law.
The draft provisions of the labor law have been widely criticized by unions and left-wing parties, as they would make it easier for companies to lay off staff and cut overtime payments. The National Front (FN) party said that the reforms appear to favor large firms rather than small or medium-sized companies.
It is expected that the bill will be submitted to the Council of Ministers of France on September 22.
