French President Jacques Chirac announced on Friday he would sign a controversial youth job law despite weeks of protests, but promised it would be amended right away to weaken two of its most disputed reforms, according to Reuters. Trade union and student leaders promptly rejected his proposals as insufficient and vowed to press on with their protests, including a nation-wide action day next Tuesday. Even before he spoke, students gathered in Paris and other main cities to continue their protests against the First Job Contract (CPE), which will let employers fire workers under 26 without cause during their first two years on the job. "It is time to defuse the situation," Chirac said in the televised speech, in which he said he understood the concerns of youths who could not find jobs. Youth unemployment is running at 22 percent, high above France's 9.6 percent national average. His long-awaited speech seemed aimed at striking a balance between Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, who wanted the law applied promptly and in full, and millions of protesters who demand it be scrapped before any compromise could be discussed. Villepin pushed the law through parliament last month, arguing France must reform its rigid labour code quickly to fight youth unemployment. Students and workers reacted with the biggest protests seen here in years. Jean-Claude Mailly, head of the Force Ouvriere union, called Chirac's proposals "incomprehensible and unacceptable." Bernard Thibault of the pro-communist CGT union said: "We stick to the call for mobilisation now more than ever." "We were waiting for the President to listen to the message that young people and workers have been sending for more than two months and to withdraw the CPE First Job Contract," said Bruno Julliard, president of student body UNEF. "And what does he tell us? He lays out the same arguments that we have heard for weeks. We are not more convinced this evening", he was quoted by Reuters as saying.
