Job Insecurity and the Welfare State in a Globalized World On April 10, 2006, French President Jacques Chirac surrendered to public pressure and withdrew the First Employment Contract (known as the CPE – the Contrat Première Embauche in French) after days of protests by student groups and labor unions. The proposed law, which was designed to combat France’s 22.2 percent youth unemployment rate, would have allowed firms the freedom to hire workers under the age of 26 on a trial basis for the first two years, during which period employers could also fire such workers more easily than current laws permit.