[Mulhollanddose]

PARIS (Reuters) - Protesters and police geared up for mass demonstrations across France on Saturday as pressure mounted on the conservative government to cancel a new law that students and unions fear will undermine job security.

Trade unions and left-wing parties will join students in the demonstrations, bringing numbers, organizational talent and leading opposition figures to a movement that has created a serious crisis for Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin.

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The First Job Contract (CPE), which Villepin rammed through parliament without debate, aims to fight youth unemployment by easing job protection for workers under 26, a step meant to spur hiring among bosses wary of taking on new staff.

Critics reject this as a "Kleenex contract" because young workers could be fired without explanation — "thrown away like a paper tissue," they say — during their first two years. They demand full job protection after a short trial period.

French trade unions usually defend only their members, who are protected by strong labor laws, but have hooked up with the students now out of fear that the new contract could be the first step toward undermining their more privileged status.


Reuters via ABC