Earlier on Wednesday the Paris police chief, who answers to the
interior ministry, said security concerns meant he had "no choice but to
ban the demonstration" after unions refused to hold their protest in a
large square, wanting instead to march through the capital's streets.
Unions say Paris protest back on in government u-turn
French trade unions will be allowed to hold a protest march in Paris
on Thursday after all, union leaders said on Wednesday, in an apparent
volte-face by the government after an earlier decision to ban the
demonstration provoked an outcry.
Earlier on Wednesday the Paris police chief, who answers to the interior ministry, said security concerns meant he had "no choice but to ban the demonstration" after unions refused to hold their protest in a large square, wanting instead to march through the capital's streets.
It
was the first time a union-backed protest had been banned since the
early 1960s, drawing condemnation from lawmakers across the political
divide and stirring tensions within an already deeply-divided ruling
Socialist Party.
But after an emergency meeting with the government, Philippe Martinez, leader of the hardline CGT union, told a news conference: "Trade
and student unions have obtained the right to protest in Paris on June
23 along a route that has been proposed by the interior minister."
Violence
on the fringes of recent protests has stretched a police force already
challenged by the demands of a state of emergency in place since Islamist militant attacks on Paris last November and fan violence during the Euro 2016 tournament.
The
unions have been protesting since early March against planned reforms
to loosen labour regulations and make hiring and firing easier. Trade
unions say the proposal will erode the rights of workers, while the
government says it is key to tackling unemployment.
President Francois Hollande,
France's most unpopular leader for decades, and his government have
stood firm in their defiance of union demands for the bill to be
scrapped.
Wednesday's compromise over the protest
could spur hopes for a broader agreement on the draft law which is
currently being debated in the Senate, said Frederic Dabi of Ifop pollsters.
"French voters don't like the law but they also want this to be over with," Dabi said.
"They consider the government and the unions are both responsible for the stalemate," he said, adding the government U-turn on the ban showed how tense the situation was.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve
authorised a 1.5 km (almost one mile) loop around a waterway at the
foot of the Place de la Bastille square. A police union official said
ensuring security would be manageable as long as officers had the
authority to arrest known troublemakers on sight.
A year ahead of a presidential election, Hollande's Socialist Party is riven with internal rifts. One party backbencher, Christian Paul, had said Prime Minister Manuel Valls was making "a historical mistake" with the ban.
Karine Berger, a Socialist lawmaker who has also been critical of the government's policies said on Twitter: "We're back to what the French democracy should be like."
The last time a protest march was banned, in 1962, nine people died, eight of them CGT members. They were marching against France's war in Algeria.
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