Entries By francecom

France scraps youth job law, bowing to mass unrest

PARIS (Reuters) – French In a televised statement, Villepin said he regretted that weeks of strikes and protests showed the CPE could not be applied but gave no details about his own political future, on the line over his handling of the dispute.

President Jacques Chirac on Monday scrapped a planned youth job law that provoked weeks of protests, in a climbdown opponents celebrated as an unqualified victory.

The move was a personal blow to Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, who had championed the First Job Contract (CPE) and seen his popularity slump with the mass opposition and unrest.

Chirac to sign France's job law

But in an address to the nation, Mr Chirac promised to modify two of the law’s most controversial clauses.

He pledged to shorten from two years to one the period in which youths could be fired – and said employers would have to give a reason for the dismissal.

The law, known as the CPE, makes it easier for employers to hire and fire people under the age of 26.

It is not clear if Mr Chirac’s decision will stop the protests, says the BBC’s Caroline Wyatt in Paris.

French job law 'constitutional'

Students and trade unions have called for another one-day strike next Tuesday in a drive to get the law scrapped.

If the Constitutional Council rules the law valid, it could be put into effect at once by President Jacques Chirac.

The president is expected to address the nation soon – possibly as early as Thursday evening, correspondents say.

Universities across the country have been disrupted for weeks by protests over the First Employment Contract (CPE), which would make it easier for employers to fire workers aged under 26.

More Than a Million French Protest Law

Scattered violence erupted in Paris, and riot police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse several thousand youths who pelted them with stones and bottles after an otherwise peaceful march. More than 240 people were arrested.

Unions and the leftist opposition joined in solidarity with the angry students for the one-day strike, increasing the pressure on Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin to withdraw the measure that makes it easier to fire young workers.

Although Villepin held firm, cracks opened in his conservative government. Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, in a clear break with Villepin, suggested suspending the law to allow for negotiations.