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French PM to meet youth organizations to appease anger over labor reform

Xinhua, March 10, 2016 Adjust font size:

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls will meet youth organizations soon in a fresh move to gain their support for a controversial labor reform, a government official said on Thursday.

The move came after hundreds of thousands of young people took to the streets across the country on Wednesday, demanding the withdrawal of the reform bill.

"Prime Minister will receive the youth organizations quickly to continue the dialogue with them," Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, Education Minister told France2 channel.

Following calls of trade and student unions, 224,000 people had participated in the protest across France. In Paris, up to 29,000 demonstrators joined the protest, according to police data.

Unions across French cities tried to pressurize government to retreat on reform of labor code, which, according to them, would offer large flexibility to companies to make jobs more elusive.

Dogged by growing critics, Valls has already delayed the presentation of the draft bill to the cabinet by two weeks to March 24 to make the necessary amendments to pass the law in the National Assembly on May.

The French government has been bothered for lower unemployment rate, which currently stands at 10.2 percent. French government seeks to reform labor code by opening to negotiation working hours, holidays and overtime pay while maintaining the 35-hour working week. Enditem