France Braces For Protest Trouble

French police on Monday promised increased surveillance on the country's rail network before nationwide strikes and protests against the government's new youth employment law.

Meanwhile, today the U.S. State Department issued a Public Announcement with a warning about continuing security threats in France. The announcement advises U.S. tourists and residents in France to avoid areas where crowds may gather and to be especially vigilant at night.

As police prepared for trouble during Tuesday's protest marches, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and opponents entered a crucial week in their standoff over the measure meant to encourage hiring, in part by making it easier to fire.

Widespread disruption to train, plane and subway traffic were expected.

In a renewed effort to break the standoff, Villepin on Monday made a new offer to meet with students and unions Wednesday, a day after the protests, "to advance and get out of the current crisis."

The unions — who want the measure withdrawn before any talks — quickly refused the offer to "improve" it. As of Monday night, the only student union to accept was one known for its rightist positions, not considered representative of the student masses.

A day before the demonstrations, two cars were set on fire during a Monday protest in front of a high school in Seine Saint Denis, police said. The suburban Paris region was the focal point of autumn unrest that spread across France.

Unions for national trains operator SNCF urged rank-and-file workers to walk off the job starting Monday evening. The one-day strike was expected to swell to full force as other unions join in Tuesday, when an estimated 200 demonstrations were expected across the country, with the largest winding through Paris. Most protests in the capital have turned violent.

The week was shaping up as a critical test for Villepin, who has refused demands to withdraw the labor law, which he insists is needed to bring down sky-high youth unemployment rates. Many opponents fear it will damage coveted job security in France.

Labor and student groups vowed to press ahead with the strike and more protests unless the government cancels the law, which has sparked violent clashes with police and shut down universities.

The dispute could weigh on France's presidential elections next year.

Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who heads Villepin's conservative party and is seen as a likely contender, took a swipe at the government's handling of the crisis in a major speech Monday.

A "spirit of compromise" must be found on social issues, he said, and social questions should not be tampered with without a full discussion. The government had pushed the jobs law through parliament without debate.

Sixty-three percent of respondents in a poll published Monday in the daily Le Monde said they disagreed with Villepin's decision to press on with the "first job contract" — and 59 percent faulted his government for the impasse. The telephone poll of 959 adults by the Ipsos agency was conducted Saturday. No margin of error was given.

The law would let companies dismiss workers under 26 without cause during their first two years on the job — a provision the government hoped would make it easier for employers to hire younger workers.

Paris police said regional and commuter rail networks will be under "increased surveillance" on Tuesday and that "preventive identity checks of individuals susceptible of participating in violence" would be authorized.

Most Air France unions are taking part in the strike. The civil aviation authority said some flights were likely to be canceled.

In Paris, half of subway trains were expected to run, while greater disruptions were expected on suburban commuter lines, the RATP transport authority said. SNCF said two of three trains were expected.