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tyresiashttp://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/03/20/france_protests060320.html
French President Jacques Chirac stood behind his prime minister's controversial youth job law Monday as union and student leaders threatened to call a general strike. Chirac said the First Job Contract (CPE), which lets employers fire people under 26 without reason during a two-year trial period, is an attempt to deal with high youth unemployment. "The challenge ... is to open a constructive and confident dialogue in this spirit, which can allow improving the CPE," Chirac said during a news conference in Paris with Jordan's King Abdullah. "I know this is the prime minister's and the government's willingness and I can only approve of it." Chirac must sign the law before it comes into effect in April.
As many as 1.5 million protesters rallied against the law in various French cities this weekend. Students and union leader say the new rules will create a disposable workforce and leave young people without job security. Union leaders called on the government to suspend the law and set a Monday evening deadline to decide their next move, which could include a general strike on Thursday.
In an interview in a youth magazine on Monday, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin refused to back down, saying the law must be given a chance to work. Villepin, who is expected to run in the 2007 presidential elections, met with business leaders on Monday and is to meet with students later in the day. His popularity has plummeted in recent weeks; a poll suggested 60 per cent of French citizens oppose the law.
Government officials say the law will encourage employers to take a chance on young people and help decrease the high unemployment rate among youths. More than 20 per cent of 18- to 25-year-olds are unemployed in France and the number rises to 50 per cent for young people of Arab or African origin.
French President Jacques Chirac stood behind his prime minister's controversial youth job law Monday as union and student leaders threatened to call a general strike. Chirac said the First Job Contract (CPE), which lets employers fire people under 26 without reason during a two-year trial period, is an attempt to deal with high youth unemployment. "The challenge ... is to open a constructive and confident dialogue in this spirit, which can allow improving the CPE," Chirac said during a news conference in Paris with Jordan's King Abdullah. "I know this is the prime minister's and the government's willingness and I can only approve of it." Chirac must sign the law before it comes into effect in April.
As many as 1.5 million protesters rallied against the law in various French cities this weekend. Students and union leader say the new rules will create a disposable workforce and leave young people without job security. Union leaders called on the government to suspend the law and set a Monday evening deadline to decide their next move, which could include a general strike on Thursday.
In an interview in a youth magazine on Monday, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin refused to back down, saying the law must be given a chance to work. Villepin, who is expected to run in the 2007 presidential elections, met with business leaders on Monday and is to meet with students later in the day. His popularity has plummeted in recent weeks; a poll suggested 60 per cent of French citizens oppose the law.
Government officials say the law will encourage employers to take a chance on young people and help decrease the high unemployment rate among youths. More than 20 per cent of 18- to 25-year-olds are unemployed in France and the number rises to 50 per cent for young people of Arab or African origin.
