French police attack demonstrations against regressive labor law

By Alex Lantier
13 May 2016

Tens of thousands of people throughout France demonstrated yesterday against the decision by the Socialist Party (PS) to impose the El Khomri labor law without a vote in the National Assembly. The contemptuous and provocative decision to use Article 49-3 to impose the law without parliamentary vote has stirred the anger of the protestors.

The police have responded by violently attacking protesters in a number of cities throughout the country.

Several thousand people demonstrated in Toulouse and Nantes, along with several hundred in Lyon and Caen. According to reports, protesters in Le Havre ransacked the headquarters of the PS. There have been a number of arrests, including nine in Toulouse, eight in Lyon, five in Nantes and three in Bordeaux.

Placard says, “You can’t go back once you have opened your eyes, May 1968 – May 2016”

In many cities, there were reports of…