French union officials are due to meet senior members of the country's ruling centre-right UMP party today for talks on the controversial youth jobs law, CPE, which has led to violent street protests in recent weeks.
An employers' leader said the two-month crisis was beginning to hurt the French economy and urged all sides to resolve the dispute as quickly as possible.
The Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, brought forward the legislation as a measure to cut youth unemployment of 22%.
However, critics say by allowing companies to lay off young workers at any time in a two-year period, the law fuels job insecurity.
