French parliament adopts controversial economic reforms

France's parliament adopted a key package of economic reforms today, after an agonising passage in which the government forced the measures through the house without a vote three times.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Thursday again resorted to a little-used procedure to push through the reforms -- which are seen as vital to energise France's sluggish economy -- without lawmakers voting.
The Socialist government survived two confidence votes in less than six months over the move, but this time the opposition did not submit a censure motion, and the law is now considered formally adopted.
Valls chose to force through the measures to avoid a left-wing flank of rebel MPs torpedoing the bill.

The legislative package is the brainchild of Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron, a former banker, and the government sees it as vital to pep up the moribund economy, the second biggest in the eurozone.
The pending law aims to liberalise certain sections of France's highly-regulated economy, including allowing more shops to open on Sunday.
The package is also viewed as crucial in Brussels, where the EU has urged France to reform in order to bring down its ballooning budget deficit, which is far above European limits.