Unions, leftwing parties, join 'yellow vests' for Paris march

Thousands of trade unionists and activists from left-wing parties marched with "yellow vest" protesters through Paris Saturday to present a united front against French President Emmanuel Macron's latest reforms package.

The Paris march, organised by the militant CGT union, came ahead of the main yellow vest march in the eastern city of Strasbourg, where protesters clashed with police trying to enforce a ban in parts of the city centre.

Veterans of the protests, which have been running for six months now, led off the Paris march.

But in a new development, many senior figures from the radical left marched with them, including Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leader of France Unbowed and one of Macron's most vocal critics.

Welcoming this show of political unity, Melenchon told BFM TV: "It's the first time that there has been a call of this kind, that's to say union organisations, associations and political movements."