France waves the white flag...again

France doing what she does best: surrendering. From the AP:

After weeks of protests and strikes, President Jacques Chirac announced plans Monday to "replace" a law that would have made it easier for companies to fire workers under age 26.

The deal represents a defeat for Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, who had insisted on the law as a means of reducing high unemployment rates among young people.
...
Many youths and unions feared the contract would damage coveted job security, but Villepin said he had sought a "better balance ... between more flexibility for the employer and more security for workers."

"This was not understood by everyone, I'm sorry to say," he said.

Of course it wasn't understood by everyone, Dom! Job security is seen as an entitlement in France (and many other places in Europe), not something to be earned.