First Employment Contract

The contrat première embauche (CPE) or First Employment Contract is causing much furore around France. Last heard, over a million students, workers and unionists staged protests and demonstrations, which have spread to most major cities and towns around France. What is this First Employment Contract then and what point of this law is causing so much unrest? Basically, the most contentious aspect of this law is the right it gives an employer to fire employees under the age of 26 in the first two years of employment without any reason. Normally, the burden of proof lies with the employer, i.e. the employer has to prove that the employee is unfit to be retained before firing that employee. Under this new law, the burden of proof will lie with the employee, i.e. the employee will have to prove that his dismissal is unfair.
At first glance, this sounds grossly unfair but I personally do not think so. Yes, there is a possibility that this law can be misused by some. However, in genuine cases of misuse and unfair dismissal, there is a system in place for redressal.
With this law, the government aims to ease the current labour situation a bit and in the bargain, increase employment amongst the poorer sections of society. The current situation in France is that employers in general are hesitant to employ inexperienced young people because under extant labour laws it is extremely hard to dismiss someone once he/she has been employed. This law will hopefully make it easier to fire people and thus make employers less hesitant in hiring young people. Dominique de Villepin, the French Prime Minister has staked his entire career on line with the stance he has taken. He has declared that there is no question of deferring, suspending or diluting this law. He believes that this law will prove effective in curbing rising unemployment whilst also bringing the poorer segments of society into the mainstream job market. He cites the riots in France in Oct/Nov last year as an example of how bad things can turn when a segment of society is not properly integrated into mainstream society.