The Hindu : International : Protests over job scheme turn violent in France

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Saturday, Mar 18, 2006

International

International

Protests over job scheme turn violent in France

Vaiju Naravane

Government open to talks on hire and fire policy, says Chirac

Paris: An estimated 700,000 persons, mainly high school and university students, demonstrated across France on Thursday demanding the withdrawal of the controversial legislation that would give employers greater flexibility to hire and fire young people.

The demonstrations turned violent in several places, the most spectacular clashes taking place outside the Sorbonne University in Paris.

Over 40 policemen were injured and police made over 300 arrests, 120 of them in Paris alone.

President Jacques Chirac said the Government was "open to dialogue" and called for negotiations to "begin as soon as possible," after the scenes of violence, the worst since the protests began.

Students say the clashes were caused by "professional troublemakers" who were not part of the demonstrations but joined the tail end of the procession to take on the police with Molotov cocktails, sticks and stones, overturning cars and throwing petrol bombs.

Police who repelled them with tear gas and water cannon, described them as outside troublemakers.

Several officers were hurt the northern city of Rennes, where 19 arrests had been made. The clashes continued into the early hours of the morning.

More protests planned

Of the 84 state run universities, 64 remained closed for the second successive week.

Students voted to close down several hundred state run high schools as part of the protests. More and bigger demonstrations are planned over the weekend.

The new contract, which is opposed by students, unions, the left-wing Opposition and two-thirds of the public, allows employers to fire employees after a "trial period" of two years.

"I asked my bankers if they would give me a loan if I had this type of contract and they all said no. How can you make any kind of project with the threat of dismissal hanging over your head for two years?" asked law student Amelie, who was part of the sit in at the Sorbonne.

The Opposition has protested against the muscled wayin which the government pushed through the legislation — using special decree powers — instead of allowing a debate in Parliament.

Mr. Chirac repeated his defence of the First Employment Contract (CPE) saying it was an "important element" in fighting youth unemployment, and called for Saturday's protest marches to be held in an atmosphere of "calm and respect."

Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy blamed Thursday's violence on "hooligans" from the far-left and far-right, as well as young delinquents from the Paris suburbs, who he said had infiltrated the march.

Sixty-eight per cent of French people now want the Government to withdraw the measure, according to a CSA poll released Thursday by Le Parisien newspapers and i-TELE television.

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