Dozens Injured in Paris as Protests Persist Nationwide Over Labor Law

PARIS — Rampaging French youths Thursday set fire to cars, looted shops and threw chunks of concrete at police, who fought back with tear gas as protests over a labor law turned violent.

Police said nationwide demonstrations against the law drew at least 220,000 marchers. Organizers said the turnout was at least 450,000.

In Paris, youths set fire to the door of an apartment building and threw stones in clashes with police at the end of a largely peaceful rally by thousands of students and workers in the Invalides area.

Dozens of young people, many wearing masks or hoods, overturned cars, smashed shop windows and beat and kicked other demonstrators, robbing them of clothes and cellphones, witnesses said.

Dozens appeared injured, several with blood streaming down their faces.

Police said about 60 people in the capital were hurt, 27 of them police officers, and that 420 people were arrested nationwide.

“This time, there are lots of young criminals on the march who are there to steal and smash. This discredits the movement,” said Charlie Herblin, a 22-year-old worker at the Paris march.

Unions have called a one-day national strike for Tuesday to demand the withdrawal of the measure, which allows employers to fire people under age 26 at any stage during a two-year trial period, without stating a reason. It is scheduled to take effect next month.

Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has championed the law as a key tool in the battle to cut youth unemployment of 23%.

Clashes also erupted in the western city of Rennes, where about 300 to 400 youths battled with police. In Lyon, students smashed store windows along the march route and disrupted traffic on two major highways. Police used tear gas on protesters in Grenoble, where an officer was injured, and groups of youths clashed with police in Marseille.

Aides said De Villepin would meet senior trade union officials today to try to defuse the crisis.

Leaders of the five main labor confederations reiterated their demand for the law to be withdrawn.

By Thursday, 21 universities were on strike to protest the law with disturbances at 46 others, the Education Ministry said. The protest movement also was disrupting high schools.