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Five people were arrested on suspicion of harassment and offences under Section 241 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act, which deals with wrongfully and unlawfully obstructing access to a workplace.

"The parties shall pursue an out of court settlement of this petition through mediation," said the order by the Employment and Labour Relations Court, which was signed by lawyers for the plaintiffs, Meta, Sama and Majorel.

The council said it hoped negotiations with the unions, facilitated by the Labour Relations Agency, would resume in August.

The unions' renewal raises questions over whether the balance of power within companies will shift back towards worker interests after Macron's 2017 overhaul of labour rules left them weaker, labour relations experts say.

Though membership is low compared to other countries, French unions traditionally have had an outsized role in labour relations with 98% of employees' workplace conditions negotiated by them, higher than nearly any other country in the OECD.