The French government is steeling itself for another day of national protests tomorrow against a controversial youth labour reform, even as it works to reach a compromise aimed at restoring order after two months of unrest.

Nicolas Sarkozy, interior minister and head of the ruling UMP party, is expected to meet leaders of students and trades unions on Wednesday, after the protests, in a bid to restore the government's relations with its so-called social partners. Their co-ordinated opposition to the reform has revived a long-divided French labour movement and led to widespread rejection of efforts by Dominique de Villepin, prime minister, to reform labour law.