France Abandons Divisive Jobs Law

(CBS/AP)  President Jacques Chirac on Monday abandoned an employment measure that triggered massive protests and strikes, bowing to intense pressure from students and unions and dealing a blow to his loyal premier in a bid to pull France out of crisis.

Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, who devised the jobs law, had faced down protesters for weeks, insisting that its most divisive provision, a so-called "first job contract," was necessary to reduce high unemployment rates among French youths by making it easier for companies to hire, and fire, young workers.

Acting on advice from Villepin, his longtime protege, Chirac "decided to replace" the provision with a measure aimed at "youths in difficulty," a statement from Chirac's office said.

Top lawmakers from Chirac's ruling conservative party presented a new plan to parliament on Monday, though details were not immediately available. The proposal emerged after talks the legislators held last week with unions and student groups to find ways of ending the crisis.

A somber Villepin, in a television appearance, explained his original legislation was designed to curb "despair of many youths" and strike a "better balance ... between more flexibility for the employer and more security for workers."

"This was not understood by everyone, I'm sorry to say," Villepin said.

Americans may consider job security a luxury, but CBS News correspondent Elaine Cobbe reports the French are used to it — and young people don't understand why older workers should be given it, but not them. Students and other opponents had feared the job contract would erode coveted job security, and some unions trumpeted the retreat by Chirac and his prime minister.

The job contract "is dead and buried," said Jean-Claude Mailly of the Workers Force union. "The goal has been achieved."

Alain Olive, secretary-general of the UNSA union, said, "After more than two weeks of intense mobilization, the 12 syndicated groups of workers, university and high school students have won a great victory."

The "first job contract" would have allowed employers to fire workers aged under 26 at any time during a two-year trial period without giving a reason.

Chirac enacted the law earlier this month, but immediately suspended it to give ruling conservative lawmakers the chance to meet with unions and look for a way out of the turmoil.

France was driven by weeks of protests and strikes that shut down universities and tangled road, train and air traffic, and stymied the government's efforts at reform.

The famous Sorbonne University has been shuttered for weeks with bloody clashes between students and police there on several occasions last month, CBS News reports.

At least five demonstrations since early March drew more than 100,000 people, culminating in two that each at least 1 million to the streets across France in the past two weeks. Many ended in violence as youths threw stones, bottles and other projectiles at riot police, who responded with tear gas and batons.

Unions had been threatening more demonstrations and walkouts just hours before the announcement from Chirac, and some students appeared unwilling to abandon their protest right away.

"We must go forward carefully," said Lise Prunier, an 18-year-old biology student at the University of Paris-Jussieu. "For the moment our movement will continue."

Because many protesters had demanded that the entire law be revoked, not just the disputed job contract, she said, "Our demands have not really been met."

Villepin, widely seen as a potential candidate for next year's presidential elections, has suffered heavy blows to his popularity over the crisis.

A new poll showed that 85 percent of French people think the crisis has also weakened the 73-year-old Chirac, who has ruled France for 11 years. The poll was conducted by the CSA polling agency last week among 1,005 respondents and gave no margin of error.