French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin admitted in a newspaper interview that he had made errors and been misunderstood in his management of a hotly contested youth labor law that has sent students and unions into the streets in violent protests.
Villepin denied, however, that he has been disavowed by French President Jacques Chirac, who has ordered up a new, softer version of the law in a bid to buy social peace that, instead, appears to have fed opponents' ardor. And he said he had no thoughts of resigning over the crisis.
Villepin received a further blow with the decision, announced on Saturday, to place the new measure in the hands of parliament -- not the government.
Villepin was criticized for being intransigent in insisting on keeping the law, which is aimed at encouraging companies to hire youths under 26 by making it easier to fire them.
"There is misunderstanding and incomprehension about the direction of my action. I profoundly regret it," he told Le Journal du Dimanche.
Asked if he had made mistakes, he replied, "of course, in all political action there is some error."
But, he added, "the main error, the only one that would have been unforgivable, would have been to do nothing against the mass unemployment in our country."
Asked if he might resign, Villepin said: "I'm not a man to give up."
A poll by the CSA firm published on Saturday showed that 72 percent of the French were not convinced by Chirac, and 75 percent said Villepin was weakened by the crisis.
In an apparent bid to save face for the government, Chirac said he would sign the current measure into law. However, his demand for a new text modifying two key points effectively suspends it.
That decision gave a boost to Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, Villepin's party rival, who had called for the measure's suspension.
Sarkozy, leader of the governing party, is looking to the presidency in next year's elections. Villepin has been seen as Chirac's choice to succeed him.
Sarkozy's entourage made clear on Saturday that he would play an active role in devising a new law. France-2 television quoted his entourage as saying he had begun making contacts with unions.
Sarkozy and others called on Saturday for dialogue with unions and students so that a new text could be written.
However, there were no signs of a crack in the firm opposition to the law which has spread from students to trade unions and the political left and crippled dozens of universities and high schools with strikes and blockades.
In a national television address Friday night, Chirac offered to modify two key elements of the law, reducing a trial period from two years to one and requiring employers to provide an explanation if an employee is fired.
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