PARIS

The French government has announced new employment and education measures worth 400-500 million euros [$457-$571 million] amid a wave of protests over unpopular labor law reforms.

Thousands of people have joined sweeping protests across France over recent weekends against the ‘El Khomri’ draft law - named after Labor Minister Myriam El Khomri, who opponents accuse of being pro-business.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls presented the set of 11 measures at a Monday meeting with representatives of eight youth organizations which oppose the reforms, including the biggest student union, UNEF, saying “the government is listening. It understands the youths' worries".

The measures include extending grants awarded to young graduates for a further four months and providing aid for apprentices and students.

It also includes an initiative to encourage employers to hire young workers on full-time contracts rather than on a part-time basis, by imposing additional taxes on short-term contracts.

With France gripped by a 10.2 percent unemployment rate, the government sees the bill as the key to tackle record joblessness.

William Martinet, president of UNEF, welcomed the measures, saying they were "a genuine response to young people's demands" but said youth organizations will remain mobilized against the labor reforms and will join the next major protest scheduled for April 28.

According to the French PM’s office, 126,000 people will benefit from these measures.

Elsewhere on Monday, police evacuated hundreds of protesters from the ‘Nuit Debout’ [Up All Night] movement who had occupied Paris’s Place de La Republique for 11 consecutive nights.

The French Occupy movement has been campaigning against the labor reforms bill.