Washington Post article...

27.03.2006

France's Sarkozy signals differences over jobs law

By Jon Boyle
Reuters
Wednesday, March 22, 2006; 8:48 AM

PARIS (Reuters) - France's powerful interior minister distanced himself from Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin over a job law on Wednesday but ruled out quitting, in a clear sign of a deep split within the ruling right.

In an interview, Nicolas Sarkozy called for a 6-month trial period for the CPE First Job Contract, which has sparked street protests and a national strike threat and highlighted the presidential rivalries of Sarkozy and Villepin.

Commentators suggest Sarkozy might leave the government in an effort to prevent his chances in 2007 presidential elections being damaged in the fallout from the CPE row.

"I am showing solidarity while being different," Sarkozy told the Paris Match weekly in an interview released ahead of publication on Thursday.

"I have no intention of displaying that difference more when things are not going well, rather than when things are going well," he said, adding he would not resign over the issue.

"One does not leave a government for opportunist reasons."

The CPE, which allows employers to fire people under 26 without giving a reason during a two-year trial period, is one of the biggest crises in Villepin's 10-month administration. The prime minister's popularity ratings have slumped in past weeks.

Villepin, who rammed the measure through parliament, says the CPE will help cut youth unemployment of around 23 percent.

Opponents say the contract will create a generation of throwaway young workers with no job security and trade unions have called for a national strike next Tuesday.

Students in the western university town of Poitiers briefly blocked roads on Wednesday. More protests are planned on Thursday, after up to 1.5 million people across France marched against the CPE at the weekend.

"We will not give up," vowed student leader Jules Aime in Poitiers.

OPEN CONFLICT?

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