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THE LABOUR BILL should be closed. This place has turned to be a symbol for French students protests since the events of May 1968 .]] The controversial bill, entitled the '' Contrat Première Embauche '' (CPE - ''First Employment Contract'' or ''Beginning Workers Contract'') 1, would make it easier for workers under twenty-six years old to be Fired . It allows employers the opportunity to terminate employment of workers under twenty-six without any reason, with little or no notice, within their first two years of employment 2. Those opposed to the First Employment Contract are worried that it could compromise Job Security , encourage social pressure with a view to lowering Wages , and impede employees in having legal recourse in cases of Sexual Harassment , since this could lead to their subsequently being fired. Proponents of the bill argue that France's tighly regulated employment market discourages French businesses from employing staff, which has led to France suffering high unemployment. Youth are particuarly at risk as they have been locked out of the same career opportunities as older workers, contributing to both a Brain Drain of graduates leaving for better opportunities in Britain and the United States , and a rise in tensions amongst the economically disenfranchised underclass. The French population is roughly split on the issue of whether the First Employment Contract should be implemented. The contract was first proposed after the Civil Unrest that occurred in France in October and November 2005. French Prime Minister Dominique De Villepin 's rating dropped to a four-month low of forty-two percent 3, largely because of the recent protests against the bill. He stated though that he had the backing of French President Jacques Chirac . However, in recent days, polls in '' L'Express '' and '' Paris-Match '' have displayed a swing of the population behind protesters - around 70% are now against the CPE law, which has been promulgated by president Chirac. The bill also includes the possibility of manual labour Apprenticeship for 14 years olds, suspension of family Welfare in cases of students Skipping School (a measure which has long been in the program of the far-right National Front Party ), and night labour being permitted for youths as young as 15 years old (as against 16 years old before). THE PROTESTS February Protests against the bill originally occurred before the bill was approved by Dominique De Villepin . On February 7 , between 200,000 and 400,000 people took part in 187 demonstrations. Some universities, include Rennes, were also occupied during February. on March 18 ]] Early March Over a million took part in protests on March 7 . A number of smaller actions took place between the March 7th and 19th mass mobilisations. Including the occupation of the Sorbonne on 9th March, rioting by youths in Rennes on March 13th, and the blockading of Nantes train station on March 14th 4. March 16 Protests across France on March 16 led to widespread disruptions. Approximately one hundred bicyclists barricaded streets around the Louvre in protests unrelated to the labor contract5. (The protest around the Louvre concerned the lack of sports teachers in schools.) Another hundred protesters descended on City Hall in Rennes , refusing to leave. Other, mostly peaceful, protests occurred throughout the country, in cities such as Marseille . Many universities, including the University Of Toulouse , were forced to close on March 16 as some wanted them to remain open and others wanted them closed during the large protests. March 18 Media attention focussed on the violent element of the demonstrations in Paris on March 18 , when as many as 700,000 protesters converged on the city's Place de la Nation. Once the protesters departed from the meeting, a few dozen rioters began to torch cars and vandalize store fronts as police were called in to calm the situation. To suppress the crowd, police officers began to spray Tear Gas . In the evening, new clashes occurred on the Place de la Sorbonne, between a hundred demonstrators and the police, until 1 am. A protester from that night, Cyril Ferez, a Syndicalist from the Sud-PTT union, trampled by riot police, remains in a coma after skirmishes in the Place de la Nation, Paris.6 This day saw 156 people being arrested in Paris. Protesters in Marseille were also sprayed with tear gas after some of them climbed Marseille's City Hall and replaced a French flag with a flag that proclaimed " Anticapitalism ." Throughout the rest of the country, less violent protests occurred. In the estimated 160 protests organized around the country, police estimated that half a million students and laborers participated. Organizers estimated the number was closer to 1.5 million.7 March 21 After large demonstrations and subsequent riots on the 16th and 18th of March, on the 21st the Dijon students' union called for a general strike.8, as demanded by left-wing papers such as Libération . A meeting that day of various labour and student groups.9 agreed for another 'day of action' against the law, including strikes, demonstrations and university occupations across the country. March 23 Riots erupted again after a day of relative calm in several cities in France. According to the French national ministry of education, universities had continued their strike and 21 universities out of 84 were entirely blocked by students. In total, 67 universities are either on strike or blockage. March 28 CPE opponents convened a fourth national 'day of action' against the law on March 28, including strikes, demonstrations and university occupations across France. Strikes disrupted rail and air transport, public education and mail services while between 1.055 million people (according to police estimates) and 2.71 million (according to union estimates) marched against the law.1011 Much of the discrepancy in crowd estimates is in Paris where the police estimated 92,000 demonstrators while unions estimated 700,000. Whatever the sources, this is double the number that on the March 16 demonstration, and more than during the December 1995 protests against the reform of pensions laws. UNIVERSITY OCCUPATIONS During the dispute, numerous student bodies have gone on strike, or occupied parts of their faculties. Due to police counter-attacks at the Sorbonne, an initial occupation was repulsed - yet the national student federation UNEF claim that the number of occupations has been increasing - 67 of France's 89 universities remain on strike.12 SEE ALSO
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