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Europe

Vandals hit French union headquarters as labor tensions grow

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    Members of the leftist CGT labor union march along the Bastille port as they protest against the proposed changes to France's working week and layoff practices in Paris, France, Thursday, June 23, 2016. Unions are holding a short march Thursday around the Bastille plaza to protest government plans to make workweeks longer and layoffs easier. Similar protests against the legislation in recent months have degenerated into clashes between riot police and radicals. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) (The Associated Press)

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    CGT Union leader Philippe Martinez, left, and FO union leader Jean-Claude Mailly lead a demonstration in Paris, Thursday, June 23, 2016. Unions are holding a short march Thursday around the Bastille plaza to protest government plans to make workweeks longer and layoffs easier. Similar protests against the legislation in recent months have degenerated into clashes between riot police and radicals. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) (The Associated Press)

PARIS – Vandals have smashed doors and windows at the headquarters of the French union that has been leading months of protests against a government bill weakening French worker protections.

Paris police and the Interior Ministry said the damage to the CGT headquarters was inflicted Saturday in the Paris suburb of Montreuil, and promised to investigate.

CGT chief Philippe Martinez, the public face of the months-long protests, visited the site Saturday to denounce the damage.

Offices of a more moderate union, CFDT, were also damaged in recent days and the governing Socialist Party's offices have been vandalized around the country.

Critics accuse Socialist President Francois Hollande of betraying his leftist base with the labor bill, designed to boost hiring by giving employers more flexibility to hire and fire and extend working hours.