Over 3,600 protesters arrested in France since March 7

A total of 3,682 people have been arrested and hundreds of riot police injured since March 7 in protests against the First Employment Contract (CPE)law, French police said Wednesday.

On Tuesday only, 634 people were arrested across the country, including 383 in Paris.

French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said that 200 people had been convicted of committing acts of violence during the protests, which repeatedly descended into vandalism and clashes with riot police.

From the beginning of the protests, a total of 532 police officers and gendarmes have been injured.

The CPE, sponsored by French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and signed into law on Friday by French President Jacques Chirac is a open-ended contract for under 26-year-olds that can be terminated by the employer without explanation during a two-year trial period.

But opponents argued that the CPE law was a breach of the hard- won labor rights and would make it more difficult than ever for young people to find long-term jobs.

French Trade Union leaders on Wednesday issued an April 17 deadline to the government to revoke the law, which was published by the Official Journal on Sunday.

Source: Xinhua