French prime minister Manuel Valls has opened the door to possible changes in a labour bill that has sparked intensifying strikes and protests - but insisted the government will not abandon the measures. The reforms, aimed at boosting hiring by loosening protection for workers, have sparked the toughest challenge yet to President Francois Hollande and his Socialist government as union activists disrupt fuel supplies, trains and nuclear plants. "There could be improvements and modifications," Mr Valls said. He did not elaborate on what might be changed, and insisted that the "heart" of the bill should remain. Withdrawing the bill "is not possible", he said. Members of the CGT union immediately dismissed the gesture, saying they want the bill scrapped, not modified. "It's inadmissible," said Arnaud Pacot of the CGT in the Aube region of eastern France, from a nuclear plant being blocked by protesters. Union activists blocked a major bridge across the Seine River on France's northern coast and a tunnel in Marseille as part of protest action and one-day strikes around the country. Demonstrators gathered early at a central square in the port town of Harfleur, setting off fireworks...
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