Thousands of people demonstrate 07 March 2006 in Paris during a nationwide protest over the government's youth job plan, the first employment contract (CPE), a permanent work contract for those under 26, which allows an employer to lay off the employee during the first two years of employment. Critics have said it undermines French labour laws and will make it more difficult for young people to find long-term jobs. French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin finally used a special constitutional power to force the CPE through parliament without a vote, where the opposition had been stalling debate on the text. AFP PHOTO JACK GUEZ / AFP / JACK GUEZ
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