Police used teargas and wielded batons to disperse several hundred striking workers from the state-owned SNFC railway company near the National Assembly on Paris' Left Bank on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, demonstrators hurled bottles and blocked traffic in protest.
They tried to push past police to approach the parliament building, waving red union flags and firing flares.
The two-week long rail strike marks the country’s longest such demonstration in years.
The walkout has caused widespread disruption on trains across France and on commuter lines. About a third of trains were canceled nationwide Tuesday.
Train workers argue that the proposed reforms would lead to job losses and security concerns.
They are against the government’s proposed spending cut plans that would bring the state-owned SNCF rail company and the RFF, the firm that maintains the rail network, under one holding company, while keeping their operations separate.
Paris says, however, that reforms are needed as a measure to create a stronger structure for the railways.
The French Transport Ministry has predicted that the railway sector’s debt will soar to more than USD 108 billion by 2025 from the current USD 54 billion if the proposed changes are not implemented.
Unions have instead called for the two companies to fully merge into one company, as they did before 1997. They also want French President Francois Hollande’s government to take on some 40-billion euros in debt owned by the two firms.
Lawmakers begin debating the bill Tuesday afternoon.
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