High school and university students opposed to labour reforms were planning fresh protests across France on Tuesday as the lower house National Assembly was to begin examining the contested bill. Previous protests, spearheaded by France's powerful labour unions and students, have brought hundreds of thousands of demonstrators onto the streets over the past month. Marches were scheduled in Paris and France's largest cities including in Marseille, Lille, Nantes, Rennes and Strasbourg, where students were on Easter break. While mostly peaceful, some protests have ended with violent clashes between students and riot police. Commuter and regional travel has also seen occasional disruptions, with rail workers joining strikes. "We need a lot of people at the demonstrations tomorrow and Saturday," William Martinet, president of the UNEF student union, told reporters on Monday. "The number of young people who will be on the streets will be decisive in bringing about change." Protests last week rallied around 1.2 million people across the country, according to organisers. Police put the figure much lower, at 390,000 protesters. However, the movement against labour reform has also spawned new forms of protest. Several hundred people have been occupying the iconic Place de la République overnight, drawing comparisons to the "Indignados" movement in Spain. 800 amendments France's Socialist government says the labour reform will encourage businesses to start hiring again. But angry students and union members accuse the government of dismantling existing labour laws to allow companies to fire workers more easily. France's education and labour ministers on Wednesday were scheduled to meet representatives of both university and high school student groups. "We need to take the time to discuss ... to improve the text," Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem said on Monday. A first reading of the bill is scheduled at the National Assembly on Tuesday, with some 800 amendments already on the table.
