PARIS: The French government will hold an extraordinary cabinet meeting on Tuesday to allow the presidency to force through a highly contested labour reform without a parliamentary vote. Since early March, the proposed reform – which would make it easier for employers to hire and fire workers – has sparked waves of violent protests across France. The reform is viewed as the last major piece of legislation for French President Francois Hollande, who faces a re-election bid next year. French ministers are expected to approve recourse to a constitutional article that has been used only once under Hollande’s government before, to push through a reform aimed at liberalising some economic activities including the extension of Sunday trading hours. The government says the new labour reform is designed to unlock France’s rigid job market and cut stubbornly high unemployment rate of around 10 per cent. Unions fear the reform will erode the cherished rights of workers who are on full-time contracts, while student organisations – which have been at the forefront of the protests – believe it will fail to create secure jobs for young people.