THOUSANDS of people took to the streets of Paris on Tuesday in the latest protest march in a marathon campaign against the French Socialist government’s job market reforms.

The march, along with a strike that shut down the Eiffel Tower, came as the French Senate prepared to vote on the hotly contested reforms aimed at reining in unemployment by freeing up the job market.

French President Francois Hollande said last week that his government would “go all the way” to enact the reforms, which are seen by critics as too pro-business and a threat to cherished workers’ rights. “It is essential not only to allow businesses to be able to hire more” but to step up training that will lead to more jobs, he said.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls will meet union leaders on Wednesday and Thursday but has already signalled he is not open to further modifying a text that has already been watered down. Valls, who has been a lightning rod for criticism because of his unrelenting stance on the reforms, conceded little by agreeing to the meetings.

Unions say the main sticking point is a measure giving precedence to agreements negotiated between companies and their staff over deals reached with unions across entire industrial sectors — notably on working hours.

Tuesday afternoon saw the 11th demonstration against the reforms since the wave of protests began on March 9. Many of the protests have descended into violence, reaching a peak in Paris on June 14, just four days after the start of the Euro 2016 football championships in France.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2016