Civil War in France?
:-)
Violence erupts after Paris protest against job law
French youths torched cars, looted shops and stoned police at the end of a rally against a youth job law in the center of Paris on Thursday, Reuters witnesses said.
Fire-fighters doused the front door of a six-storey apartment building set on fire in rue Fabert close to the Invalides area in central Paris, near the Foreign Ministry, a Reuters correspondent said.
Police fired tear gas in an effort to contain the violence that erupted after thousands of students and workers marched through Paris, calling on Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin to withdraw his CPE First Job Contract, which the young people say will create a generation of "throw-away workers."
Dozens of youths smashed shop windows with chairs, overturned a car, torched another vehicle and hurled stones at police, Reuters reporters at the scene said.
"Saturday's march was good because everybody was together," said Charlie Herblin, a 22-year-old worker on the march. "This time, there are lots of young criminals on the march who are there to steal and smash. This discredits the movement."
Protests against the CPE have spread across France in the past few weeks, largely remaining peaceful, but violence has erupted in the center of Paris after previous rallies, with youths clashing with riot police.
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy met union officials on Tuesday after one of their members sank into a coma after being hurt in violence after Saturday's Paris demonstration. Public prosecutors said there was no evidence police were to blame.
Villepin on Thursday invited France's unions to talks on the CPE, which allows employers to fire people under 26 without giving a reason during a two-year trial period. Villepin hopes the contract will help to cut youth unemployment.
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