French police arrest 22 people in protests over labour reforms

Twenty-two people were arrested in Paris at a demonstration over labour reforms threatening workers rights, French police said Saturday.

Some 3,000 people late Friday gathered in the Place de la Republique for another of the "Up All Night" protests, which has been taking place since March 31 over a government bill that will make it easier for struggling companies to fire workers.

Police fired tear gas at protestors and then brutally forced them out of the square.

During clashes with the protestors four officers were injured and 22 people were arrested, according to the police.

Hundreds of people have been gathering every night for the past two weeks at the Place de la Republique, the vast square in eastern Paris where a memorial has been erected to the 130 victims of last November's terrorist attacks.

The labour reforms are a unifying theme of the gatherings, but the "Nuit Debout" or "Up All Night" movement is broader, embracing a range of anti-establishment grievances.

The participants say they are drawing inspiration from the Spanish protesters known as the Indignados, who gave rise to the far-left Podemos party.

Sporadic violence erupted on April 9 when tens of thousands of people took to the streets in dozens of French cities as part of the movement.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Friday, 151 officers have been injured since the beginning of the protests, describing the incidents of violence as "intolerable".