French President Emmanuel Macron is launching the second step of his campaign to rethink labour law in France, focusing on unemployment and job training.

Macron is meeting with France’s main workers and employers’ unions to start negotiations that will last for months. The discussions come as workers are still protesting a first set of labour measures Macron signed last month, aimed at making it easier for firms to hire and fire.

The government now wants to extend unemployment benefits to independent entrepreneurs, farmers and merchants who go bankrupt.

Employees who voluntarily quit would also be entitled to unemployment benefits under strict conditions, to encourage workers to change jobs more easily.

The government also wants to reform the way benefits are financed and help unemployed people acquire new skills needed in a rapidly changing global economy.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, more than 40,000 people protested in Paris against Macron’s reforms, especially the reforms aimed against public sector workers. Across the country, hundreds of thousands also marched against the labour reforms.