French far left and unions protest Socialist austerity plans
Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Paris, protesting the new economic reforms put forward by Francois Hollande's center-left government. The policy-change followed a local election drubbing.
Protesters carried banners with slogans like "Enough, Hollande!" or the pictured placard saying "when you are on the left, you are on the side of employees." The demonstrations were called by French trade unions and two leftist parties in response to new Prime Minister Manuel Valls' tax breaks and austerity measures from the French government.
Parisian police put the turnout for the protests at around 25,000 people, while the French Communist Party said on their Facebook account that 100,000 took part. Smaller protests took place around the country, with an estimated 1,600 turning out in the southern city of Marseille.
Greece's leading opposition politician, Alexis Tsipras of the Syriza coalition, marched alongside Pierre Laurent of the French communists and the leftist party's Jean-Luc Melenchon. Tsipras is the lead candidate for EU leftists' bloc in this year's European Parliament elections.
http://www.dw.de/french-far-left-and-unions-protest-socialist-austerity-plans/a-17563620
