(MENAFN- AFP) Paris riot police swarmed the French capital's historic Bastille area on Thursday as protesters gathered for the latest march in a marathon campaign against labour reforms that has seen recurring violence.
As President Francois Hollande vowed his Socialist government would "go all the way" to enact the reforms, armoured vehicles choked the avenues leading to the Place de la Bastille where the march was set to kick off at 2:00 pm (1200 GMT).
The march was given the go-ahead after bitter negotiations in which the government first tried to ban it on security grounds, before backing down and agreeing to allow a short, tightly contained route.
The threat of a ban -- which would have been the first in 54 years -- only deepened the rancour between the government and unions who accuse Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls of flouting democratic values.
Eric Coquerel of France's Left Party said Thursday that in a "normal democracy, Manuel Valls would resign" following the prime minister's vocal support for a ban.
Valls warned that fresh violence would not be tolerated after the last protest on June 14 saw bloody clashes just four days after the start of the Euro 2016 football tournament hosted by France.
Two police officers were hospitalised, while another 26 were injured.
More than 2,000 police have been deployed for the march, and around 100 people will be barred from taking part, police chief Michel Cadot said Wednesday.
He said marchers would be screened and searched "to prevent them from bringing in projectiles or items for disguising themselves."
Last week masked protesters smashed up storefronts and attacked a children's hospital, shattering some of its windows, while others hurled projectiles at police, who made dozens of arrests.
- Stun grenades -
The Solidaires union on Thursday denounced a decision to equip the police with stun grenades, issuing a statement saying the devices have injured hundreds.
Unions are protesting a series of labour market reforms that Valls had to force through parliament in May to avoid a vote, even after the bill was significantly watered down.
However after more than three months of protests and strikes over the legislation, neither side is willing to budge.
Hardline unions have vowed to keep up the pressure until their demands to further revise the bill are met.
The row has weighed heavily on an already overstretched police force dealing with months of terror fears and securing the Euro, which has been marred by hooligan violence.
Thursday's march will be the 10th in a wave of protests against the government's disputed labour reforms that kicked off in March, with many descending into violence, notably in Paris and the western cities of Nantes and Rennes.
The short route will take the marchers from the Place de la Bastille to the Seine, looping around the Arsenal Basin before returning to the square.
Many owners of boats and barges that are usually moored in the basin have moved them out of harm's way to the nearby Canal Saint Martin.
The proposed labour reforms are aimed at making the job market more flexible and reducing high unemployment.
"(W)e will go all the way because it is essential not only to allow businesses to be able to hire more" but to step up training that will lead to more jobs, Hollande said before the march.
Critics see the measures as too pro-business and a threat to cherished workers' rights.
A survey out Sunday found that two in three French people are opposed to the labour bill, which is currently before the Senate.
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