French Premier Refuses to Bow to Protests by Angry Youths

French Premier Refuses to Bow to Protests by Angry Youths - New York Times: "It was the fifth nationwide protest since February against a modest initiative that was aimed at encouraging the hiring of young people but that has provoked an improvised, open-ended campaign against the French government itself.

Only 24 of France's 84 universities were functioning normally, with others either partly blocked by demonstrators or closed. The Eiffel Tower was closed, as it was during last Tuesday's protests. The position of the government deteriorated even further after President Jacques Chirac's televised address on Friday, when he made a compromise offer that watered down the youth labor law.

The law, as passed by Parliament and upheld by the Constitutional Council, created a new labor contract for people under the age of 26 that gave employers up to two years to fire them without cause.

Mr. Chirac said he was sending the measure back to lawmakers, asking them to cut the probation period to one year and to require employers to give a reason for any dismissal. He asked companies not to issue contracts under the law until it had been modified. But two days later, Mr. Chirac signed the original youth initiative into law."