LIVE: French capital faces new wave of protests on May Day over labour reforms

[Donkees]

Trade unions and students are due to march in Paris on Sunday, May 1, against labour reforms proposed by the French government and to commemorate International Worker’s Day.
Unions such as the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) and the Workers' Force (FO) have called for the rally, together with several students’ unions.

Commonly referred to as the 'El Khomri law' after French Labour Minister Myriam El Khomri, the reforms will look at almost all aspects of France's labour laws; maximum working hours, holidays and breaks, among other areas will be open to negotiation as the government attempts to liberalise France's labour market.

[appalachiablue]

1. Looks like an intense clash taking place over labor reforms and for May Day.

Trade unions and students march in Paris against labor reforms proposed by the French government and to commemorate International Worker’s Day. RT News.

[LiberalArkie]

2. I think that the French take May Day pretty seriously. If my memory serves

me correctly.

What impressed me is that really for the first time "The world world is watching" is literally correct. Now a kid in high school (or even younger) can go out an shoot live video that is sent around the world (unedited) for people to see and make their own decisions about the event. Before it used to take millions of dollars in equipment and satellite time to do what a kid with a cell phone can do now.

[appalachiablue]

3. The French and some others certainly have that history. I was just thinking

the same thing about the instant, mass communication power of the internet. Been there a good deal, Vive La France!

[LiberalArkie]

8. It is amazing how the French can switch gears from the ISIS bombings to the spring protests.

[uhnope]

4. lol in terms of fake news, RT could teach FOX a thing or two nt

[Donkees]

6. Ruptly is an international video news agency headquartered in Berlin, Germany

Ruptly is an international video news agency headquartered in Berlin, Germany. Launched in 2012 it is a part of the same media family as the Emmy-nominated global news network RT.

[uhnope]

7. RT is Putin's propaganda channel, by and for the Kremlin

Putin's government is anti-gay, anti-free press, anti-democracy. WTF?

[LiberalArkie]

5. I love the French. Right at the protest line. Police all around holding a line of protesters

a older lady ( I guess shopping) comes strolling very casually across the street.

[appalachiablue]

9. Remarkable. A trash collection strike in Paris was very noticeble at the airport

once as we saw. And an extended labor, transportation strike in Fort de France, Martinique was a bit of a mess until we were lucky and found someone to assist our limited needs. All for the good cause of workers and fairness.
---------
Guardian, 'France Labour Law Protests Turn Violent'. April 29, '16.

Two dozen French police officers have been injured, three of them seriously, as violence flared in mass protests across the country against a hotly contested labour reform bill.
‘End of term’ protests threaten François Hollande’s labour legacy. Read more

Security forces in Paris responded with tear gas as masked youths threw bottles and cobblestones, leaving three policemen with serious injuries, said the interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, adding that 24 police were injured overall.
Clashes between police and protesters also erupted in the cities of Nantes, Lyon, Marseille and Toulouse, with 124 people arrested nationwide, Cazeneuve said.
The French prime minister, Manuel Valls, said the “irresponsible minority” would be brought to justice.
In Paris, security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades early on Friday to disperse hundreds of people who had refused to leave Place de la Republique after a night-time rally.

Police gradually pushed the protesters back into adjacent streets, with several arrested.
Two buses and two scooters were torched a few hundreds metres from the site.
The clashes came as at least 170,000 workers and students took to streets nationwide on Thursday in a new push for the withdrawal of the proposed labour law.

“We have always condemned violence,” said Jean-Claude Mailly of the Force Ouvriere trade union, arguing that the violence occurred “outside of the protests”. William Martinet, leader of the biggest student union, the UNEF, condemned the rioters but also denounced a “disproportionate use of force by the police”.
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/29/france-labour-law-protests-turn-violent

[LiberalArkie]

10. Now, every time the police fire off a tear gas canister, the crowd cheers.

Probably since this is the official MayDay protests, things are a little lighter with the police. I saw a kid right up next to the police line trying to light a cigarette and the helmeted policeman with the shield reached out and lit it for him.

[appalachiablue]

12. A 'camaraderie' of sorts on this labor/worker day is apparent at times I notice too.

La Vie.

[LiberalArkie]

11. The poor police are tossing tear gas and it is blowing back into the police face.

Now the police are taking paintball fire.