1 mln protesters march in Paris to call for labor reform withdrawal

In a new show of strength over the disputed new labor rules, one million people headed by unionists took to the streets here on Tuesday calling for the withdrawal of the reform, trade unions said.

The CGT, France's largest trade union, said hundreds of buses carried protesters from all over France into Paris for a "bigger turnout than at any time in the past four months," CGT head Philippe Martinez said before the start of the demonstration.

"If we are not heard, there will be two other demonstrations," Martinez was quoted as saying.

Despite heavy security and Paris prefecture's decision to ban 130 would-be troublemakers from taking part in the anti-labor rally in the capital, violent standoffs between riot police and masked youth were reported. Thirteen people were arrested, according to Paris prefecture.

Twenty-six people were wounded, 20 of them policemen, local media reported.

In regional demonstrations, 140,000 people expressed their refusal to accept the new labor code in Marseille, southern France, according to unions. In Lyon, 5,000 protesters marched through the city streets.

Meanwhile, workers at SNCF railway company stopped working for the 12th consecutive day. However, the movement has lessened with services operating at up to 90 percent.

Just 7.3 percent of employees were still on strike on Tuesday, the state-run firm said.

Tuesday's rally came after the Senate, the upper house of parliament, started an examination of the new labor rules proposed by the government to help lower the country's unemployment rate which currently stands at 10 percent.

The Socialist Party government believes softening labor rules would incite companies to hire more by reducing overtime pay and economic redundancies and opening to negotiation working hours and holidays.

However, critics say such a move would further weaken workers' revenue and create more low-paying jobs. Endit