In the latest response to the controversial First Employment Contract, which would allow employers to fire young workers without cause during their first two years on the job, union leaders gave French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin until Monday evening to withdraw the law or face general work stoppages. The union leaders will discuss the logistics of such a strike Monday, while student protests could resume by Thursday.
See "French Unions Threaten to Strike", James Kanter, The New York Times, March 19, 2006