Three children were fighting for their lives after a sudden spring storm sent a bolt of lightning crashing down on a birthday party in a Paris park.

France’s embattled prime minister faced a tough and potentially pivotal meeting today with unions demanding that he toss out a divisive new jobs law after protests turned bloody and left a Paris park littered with shattered glass and ashes.

French president Jacques Chirac is due to make a last-ditch push for a “Yes” vote on the EU Constitution, with a televised prime-time address planned for this evening.