France abandons contested youth jobs plan

PARIS – French President Jacques Chirac abandoned his government’s contested youth jobs law yesterday, clearing the way for a resolution to one of the worst social and political crises to hit France in decades.

Chirac announced following a high-level meeting that the plan, which would have made it easier to hire and fire workers aged under 26, would be replaced with new measures to help disadvantaged young people into work. The outcome marks a major victory for French unions and student group which mobilised million-strong protests on the streets in a two-month battle against the measure.It is also a serious blow for Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, who had fathered the contested scheme.Villepin – who has been badly damaged by the crisis, his approval rating plummeting this week to 25 per cent – confirmed Chirac’s decision in a brief televised address.”The necessary conditions of trust and serenity were not present, either among young people or businesses, to allow the implementation of the First Employment Contract (CPE),” Villepin said.He said he had wanted to “act fast” against youth unemployment, which runs at 22 per cent, by proposing a strong and viable reform.”It was not understood by everyone, and I regret that,” he added.Unions and student leaders, who had threatened more protests unless the CPE was withdrawn by April 17, were to meet later yesterday to decide how to respond, with a formal announcement expected later in the day.Several groups indicated that their conditions had been met, suggesting they would declare an end to the protest movement.- Nampa-AFPThe outcome marks a major victory for French unions and student group which mobilised million-strong protests on the streets in a two-month battle against the measure.It is also a serious blow for Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, who had fathered the contested scheme.Villepin – who has been badly damaged by the crisis, his approval rating plummeting this week to 25 per cent – confirmed Chirac’s decision in a brief televised address.”The necessary conditions of trust and serenity were not present, either among young people or businesses, to allow the implementation of the First Employment Contract (CPE),” Villepin said.He said he had wanted to “act fast” against youth unemployment, which runs at 22 per cent, by proposing a strong and viable reform.”It was not understood by everyone, and I regret that,” he added.Unions and student leaders, who had threatened more protests unless the CPE was withdrawn by April 17, were to meet later yesterday to decide how to respond, with a formal announcement expected later in the day.Several groups indicated that their conditions had been met, suggesting they would declare an end to the protest movement.- Nampa-AFP