Unions give Chirac deadline to repeal jobs law

French trade unions have set President Jacques Chirac a deadline to repeal a youth jobs law amid mass protests and sliding poll…

French trade unions have set President Jacques Chirac a deadline to repeal a youth jobs law amid mass protests and sliding poll ratings for the government.

Students who blockaded roads in several cities, a day after at least a million people joined marches, threatened to force conservative Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin's government to back down by squeezing the economy and staging more protests.

Scrapping the law could be the last nail in the coffin for Mr Villepin's premiership. His authority is under heavy pressure from rivals, notably Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who is the main conservative rival for 2007 presidential elections.

We're waiting for the only plausible response likely to end the conflict - repeal
CGT union leader Bernard Thibault

Union leaders held talks with conservative legislators after Mr Chirac last week effectively took Mr Villepin off the case and promised parliamentary amendments to soften the "easy hire, easy fire" law in the euro zone's second-largest economy.

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Force Ouvriere union chief Rene Valladon said France's 12 main unions wanted the three-day-old First Job Contract (CPE) law repealed by April 15th.

"I think they are going to do the rounds before deliberating on the political strategy to end the crisis," CGT union leader Bernard Thibault said after the meeting with the legislators.

"We said what we had to say on the CPE, now we're waiting for the only plausible response likely to end the conflict - repeal," he said.

Students have called new protests for Tuesday while unions meet on Monday to plot strategy. The April 15th deadline coincides with the start of France's Easter holidays and could reflect concerns the protests might fizzle out over that period.

Mr Villepin, whose poll ratings have plumbed new depths, championed the law as a way to cut youth unemployment of 22 per cent, Critics say the law, which allows firms to lay off under-26s during a two-year period, will fuel job insecurity.

Mr Sarkozy called for an end to the use of a fast-track parliamentary procedure employed to force through the law.