Deadlock in talks over French job law; violence feared |
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Sat, 25 Mar 2006 18:10
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PARIS: The turmoil in France over the government's new labour reforms is becoming explosive with the student union leaders threatening to intensify their protests after initial talks between their representatives and French prime minister Dominique de Villepin ended in stalemate Friday.
The union leaders are taking exception to president Jacques Chirac's insistence only hours before the start of the meeting that the youth employment law "must be applied".
There are prospects that the national level demonstrations and strikes by students and workers planned for Tuesday next could lead to violence. The unions have warned that the strikes will be extended if the government does not relent. Protests staged Thursday too led to violence and rioting in several parts of Paris.
Interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy has already ordered the police to be vigilant and ready to handle any situation and police reinforcements are being made at important points.
Only three out of seven high school and university students unions participated in the talks. Leaders of four refused the prime minister's invitation. In a letter to de Villepin, they said they would only be interested in discussing the withdrawal of the law, not its implementation.
The unions are basically opposing provisions in the new labour law, architected by de Villepin, which allows people under 26 years of age to be fired without any reason in the first two years of their contracts. Students say the provision, known as First Job Contract or CPE, will make them a "Kleenex generation" -- used and then discarded.
On Thursday, student demonstrations, which began peacefully, turned violent as thousands of youths, mostly from poor suburbs, set fire to cars and attacked students in several French cities. Police rounded up 630 troublemakers. Several people were injured in the violence.
Head of Medef business federation, Laurence Parisot, who participated in the discussions with de Villepin said the protests were "endangering the economy of our country" as well as "endangering the image and reputation" of France.
There are accusations that de Villepin has contributed to the escalating violence by refusing to relent on the new law.
Mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoe described the situation as "explosive" and said "the main government leaders must take this seriously, beyond their political calculations".
Meanwhile, the prime minister said the meeting with the unionists was a first step and called for more talks. He said, "Together we must manage to find constructive solutions to answer the real concerns of young people."
Under current French law, workers enjoy strong job protection and it is difficult to fire a person.
As the impasse continues, employers have stopped new hiring, which has resulted in higher unemployment rates -- around 10 per cent and increasing to even 50 per cent among some groups of young workers.
The government had proposed the new law after demonstrations and riots last year in the suburbs by unemployed young people who complained they had no opportunities for work. The plan has, however, met with strong opposition from students who claim the law will create a class of workers who will face being fired every two years.
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