Students in France Tuesday celebrated the defeat of a law allowing employers to fire workers 26 and younger in their first two years, without explanation. While President Jacques Chirac said the measure was designed to help underprivileged young people find jobs, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin admitted misjudging public sentiment in imposing the law that led to weeks of protests by students and unions across France, the BBC reported. "While the (Contrat Premiere Embauche or First Employment Contract) is a measure designed to reduce job insecurity ... it became a symbol of greater job insecurity," de Villepin said during a French TV interview. Chirac and other government leaders Monday said the law would be replaced with a new one offering state support for employers who give jobs to young people. Students said they will be watching. "I think that we'll have to be extremely vigilant as to the content of the new law which will be proposed by the government," student leader Nabila Randani told the BBC. © Copyright 2006 by United Press International

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