The protests against the CPE (Contrat Première Embauche = First Job Contract) have been ongoing for about five weeks now, disrupting quite a lot of services in France. Today massive
strikes were held throughout France where not only students susceptible of being affected by this new law, but also workers in the private sector took part.
I'm lucky that my university is among the 25% of universities which are still operational, and has not been blockaded by its students. In Paris, some colleges, secondary schools and universities have already been blocked for five weeks, and classes can not be held there.
Now, I know that the French have a reputation for protesting for nearly anything they can protest about (I don't have statistics, but I'd wager a quite large bet on France having the most days of strikes during a year in Europe on average for the last couple of decades), but after a certain time it does get tireing.
There are already some student movements, which have formed against the blockading of universities, since some students (especially the foreigners, who can't stay until september to sit late exams) want to study.
And about the law everyone is protesting about
: the main problem the students have with it is that in the first two years of the contract the employer (and coincidentally also the employee) can end the contract without giving any further explanation. This proposal was created after the troubles during november/december (the troubles during which a few thousand cars were torched), so as to facilitate young people from the "difficult" suburbs in getting jobs for themselves.
So basically whatever way this situation goes, it shall be bad for the french goverment and the prime minister especially who, going by the current trend, shall probably lose the next elections.
The students and the unions want the law to be fully withdrawn, while the prime minister says that he will not withdraw it, but might consider making changes.
My opinion on this issue is divided. While I can see what problems the protesters have with the law, I think the protests are going too far. I mean blockading universities is, as far as I know, illegal, since they are public places. I'm not referring to the trouble makers who slip among the crowds and throw various objects at the police here, because in any demonstration of a certain size, they shall be there. Luckily for the moment they aren't representative of the movement.
So...to cut a post beginning to get long short, what are other peoples' opinions on this situation?