'3 million' protest in France
2006-03-28 15:36
Paris - A French union leader claimed three million people had taken to the streets of France on Tuesday against the government's youth jobs law, describing it as a "historic figure."
The biggest demonstration was to start from the Place d'Italie in Paris early afternoon, with thousands of police on high alert for fresh outbreaks of trouble.
Previous marches in the capital have ended in running battles between police and rioters. On Thursday gangs of youths from Paris's high-immigration suburbs smashed windows, set fire to cars and mugged demonstrating students on the Invalides esplanade.
Visiting a police station near the route of Tuesday's march, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy told officers their task was "first to protect the demonstrators, second to arrest as many hooligans as possible, and third to protect passers-by and shops. Whatever the provocation, do not yield to it."
Trade unions and student groups vowed a "black Tuesday" in their three-week campaign against the First Employment Contract (CPE), which makes it easier to hire and fire young people, but disruption to transport was lighter than feared.
In Paris 70% of city metro trains and buses were running normally and more than half of suburban commuter trains. Nationwide two out of three TGV high-speed trains were operating and half of other rail services, according to the state-owned SNCF.
The civil aviation authority DGAC said that a third of flights from French airports were cancelled, but most of these were domestic services. Paris airports were reporting delays of around half an hour on some flights.
Around the country, public transport was affected in around 70 towns and cities, while the airport in the southwestern town of Pau was closed. Schools, post-offices, banks, government offices and unemployment bureaus were all disrupted, and no newspapers were published.
Meanwhile unions turned down an invitation from Villepin to attend afternoon talks on the contested contract, which was voted through parliament two weeks ago and is awaiting approval by constitutional experts before passing into law.
Unions and student groups are demanding withdrawal of the CPE, but the prime minister is offering only "adjustments" on its two most contentious aspects: a two-year trial period, and the free hand given to employers during that period to sack under 26-year-olds without explanation.
The government insists the contract is a vital tool for fighting youth unemployment, which can reach more than 50% in the poor city suburbs hit by last year's riots, but opponents say it is a breach of hard-won labour rights.
Villepin reiterated his refusal to withdraw the CPE on Tuesday, telling UMP deputies he was open only modifications introduced outside the framework of the law.
But there were clear signs of division inside UMP ranks, with Sarkozy - who heads the party and is Villepin's rival for leadership of the political right - urging suspension of the contract pending more talks with unions and employers.
An Ipsos poll for Le Monde newspaper gave some comfort to the prime minister, who has staked his political career on getting the CPE into law.
- SAPA