PARIS, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday signed the controversial new labor rules into law, a day after thousands of opponents took to the streets across the country to protest the reform.
A video broadcasted by local media, showed Macron, from his office at the Elysee Palace, was enacting legislation to lessen rigid labor rules by offering more flexibility to companies to hire and fire and more freedom in terms of pay and working conditions.
"(It's) a campaign commitment and unprecedented in-depth reform of labor market which is essential to our economy and society," the French president said.
Changing labor regulations was a first test to France's youngest top official in modern history as he was haunted by public discontent that brought thousands of people who oppose labor reform onto the streets.
On Thursday, around 132,000 people took part in the hard-left CGT union-led protest. In further sign of a continued showdown, more rallies are scheduled for the next two weeks including truck drivers strike on Monday, pensioners movement on Sept. 28 and that of civil servants on Oct. 10.
After long summer talks with labor unions, the decrees will be published in the official gazette on Saturday and become law in the coming days. They are set to take effect by year-end.
