FRANCE: French trade unions and student groups claimed victory last night after hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated across France against prime minister Dominique de Villepin's youth employment scheme known as the CPE or "first job contract".
The plan enables employers to dismiss anyone under 26 during their first two years on the job. The difficulty of firing is often cited as a major cause of France's 9.6 per cent unemployment. But the CPE has been denounced as a "Kleenex" measure which treats young people as disposable commodities.
"CPE equals contract for slaves" and "Contract Eternal Precariousness" were among slogans on placards yesterday. Organisers claimed 200,000 people marched in Paris, and more than a million nationwide. Police issued lower estimates, but the goal of more than 500,000 was reached.
In all, 160 marches were held. The Sorbonne, scene of the May 1968 riots, was shut down after some 50 students set up a barricade of bins and cardboard boxes. Riot police used tear gas in Marseille and Rennes, where 800 people briefly paralysed train traffic by occupying the station. Demonstrators also occupied the town hall in Toulouse.
More demonstrations are scheduled for tomorrow, next Tuesday and next Thursday week. Most of yesterday's demonstrators were young people, with a smaller turnout by teachers and civil servants. Public transport and air travel were slightly disrupted. The rebellion reached the prime minister's office at Matignon, where a poster next to the coffee machine said: "On March 7th, demand the withdrawal of the CPE! Stand up to the contempt shown by the government."
Francois Chérèque, secretary general of the Cfdt trade union, said mobilisation had doubled or tripled compared to one month ago. "After losing the opinion battle, the prime minister is losing the battle of the street."
Mr de Villepin's approval rating has plummeted from 52 per cent in February to 41 per cent now, according to an Ifop/Paris Match poll published yesterday.
During parliamentary questions, the socialist Jean-Marc Ayrault asked Mr de Villepin: "The question is simple. Are you going to listen to French people? Are you going to withdraw the CPE right now?"
The prime minister said he respected "the worries and fears that are expressing themselves in our country" and promised to "enrich" the CPE with "any new proposals". In 1994, a similar plan by the Balladur government was withdrawn in the face of public protest. Yesterday's marches worried the government, but were not enough to make it back down.