Chirac faces key decisions over jobs law crisis

President Jacques Chirac, juggling the demands of outraged students, frustrated MPs and his loyal premier, must make a key decision today on how to handle a controversial youth employment law to pull France out of crisis.

Calls mounted yesterday for Chirac to jettison the most inflammatory part of the law, a new job contract that would make it easier to sack young workers. Many warned that only a withdrawal would quell wildcat protests that threaten to spin beyond the control of unions and student groups at the forefront of the two-month-old protest movement.