French PM in uphill fight for labour reform plan

France's Socialist government will hold this week a round of negotiations aimed at salvaging its proposed labour reforms, as it faces fierce opposition against the draft bill and the spectre of street protests on Wednesday. Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Sunday pledged to make "improvements" to the text, which has driven a wedge within the Socialist Party itself, infuriated labour unions and prompted a massively followed online petition. Rather than "negotiate the weight of the ball and the leng