Spotlight: Thousands of French rally on May Day to protest controversial labor reform

Tens of thousands of workers and students took to the streets across France on Sunday to protest a controversial labor reform bill that critics say would create more low-paid jobs and further weaken workers' rights.

From Marseille and Lyon to Rennes and Strasbourg, and also in Paris, trade unions joined students' organizations and supporters of "Up All Night" action to stage a markedly larger May Day rally.

Police data showed some 84,000 demonstrators took part in the mass demonstration, compared to last year's turnout of 76,000.

Protests were largely peaceful, with only a few brief clashes in Paris.

In a statement, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said 18 troublemakers were arrested, and one policeman and one protestor were slightly injured.

"Unacceptable incidents were caused...in Paris by a marginal and violent minority," he commented.

In one of the confrontations in Paris, a group of about 300 demonstrators chanted "everyone hates the police," and some of them pelted stones at police officers. The police responded by firing tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the crowd.

Despite police call to clear the Republic Square on Sunday evening, hundreds of hooded people refused to move, triggering a fresh wave of violent stand-offs before a return to calm there.

The square, a popular site for mass gathering in the French capital city, has been occupied by "Up All Night" supporters every night in the last four weeks, a few days after the government put forward a draft bill that would make hiring and firing of workers easier.

With the initial aim of pressuring the government to reconsider the proposed labor reform, the "Up All Night" movement has since grown to call attention to other social and economic grievances.

Statistics showed that the French economy only grew 1.14 percent in 2015, and unemployment for the year was around 10 percent, with a staggering 25 percent for young people.

Observers say the ongoing "Up All Night" movement and eruption of violence among protesters highlight the public anger toward the government's failure to rejuvenate a flagging economy or uphold social justice.

The French government has been cautious in dealing with the protests in recent weeks.

While tightening security measures and arresting so-called troublemakers, the French government has also made various efforts to reach out to the students, a major force behind the "Up All Night" movement. Endi