Discussions between French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and the leaders of five French labor unions have broken off. Union leaders say they were not successful in getting de Villepin to withdraw the controversial new law.
The new proposal allows French employers to fire any employee for any reason during the first two years of their employment. The stated goal of the law was to stimulate hiring. Under the present French law, once a worker is hired, the worker has protections that make it costly and difficult for an employer to dismiss the employee. As a result, employers are hesitant to hire anybody and unemployment in France remains at approximately 10 percent.
Unions and French students have held demonstrations against the new regulations and some of the protests have turned violent. More than 200,000 people protested on Thursday alone.
Prior to meeting with de Villepin, union leaders said if the law was not withdrawn, they would declare March 28 a 'day of action' and hold demonstrations and call for strikes.
On Thursday, 420 people were arrested nationwide in sometimes violent protests. According to Paris police, 27 officers and 33 protesters were injured as a result of Thursday's demonstrations.
With no resolution in sight, the controversy over France's new employment law is certain to continue.
