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Chirac Compromise Rejected by Young

President Jacques Chirac offered a compromise, on the controversial labor law that has left the streets of Paris swarmed with protesters, but the students, that the law is allegedly protecting, say that the president`s proposal is not good enough. His offer, however, was swiftly rejected by rowdy, unmoved protestors.

In a nationwide address, Chirac said that he would soften the divisive new labor law and called on student and trade union leaders to begin constructive talks. In his speech, Chirac supported the new law, which will create job contracts giving employers the right to fire workers 25 and under without cause during a trial period on the job.

After the president`s speech, several thousand young French spilled into the streets in a "spontaneous" march through central Paris. Chirac tried to appeal to the masses with two modifications to the law: that the trial period be reduced to one year from two and that people fired under the law be told the reason. Critics of the plan nonetheless said that the onus was on the protestors to meet the president halfway.