PARIS, March 17 (Xinhuanet) -- French President Jacques Chirac called for dialogue as soon as possible over the controversial First Employment Contract (CPE), as protests heated up to violence during recent days.

    Speaking from the Elysee Palace, Chirac appealed to all to show "responsibility" to avoid a repeat of violence that erupted at the end of Thursday's student demonstrations.

    He hoped that Saturday's demonstration by trade union and student could take place in a climate of "calm and respect for all" and for negotiations to begin "as soon as possible".

    Protests against a new youth labor law heated up on Friday as police detained some 300 people nationwide, including 187 in Paris, the French Interior Ministry said, confirming that some 257,000 people took part in the protests in 80 towns and cities across France.

    According to Paris police chief Pierre Mutz, 46 police officers were injured and 11 of them hospitalized in clashes with protesters.

    Chirac repeated his defence of the CPE, saying it was an "important element in fighting unemployment", which affects one in four French youths, but called for the opening of talks with labor groups.

    "The government, as you know, is ready for dialogue, and for my part I wish it to begin as soon as possible."

    He said the CPE would "create new jobs for young people who are largely left by the wayside in the jobs market."

    "It brings opportunities and new guarantees for young people in difficulty," Chirac argued.

    Two-thirds of France's 84 universities were hit by protests with 21 closed and 37 others badly disrupted, the Education Ministry said, adding that protests were also reported in dozens of high schools.

    Demonstrators demanded that the government scrap the CPE, which, having been adopted by the French parliament, allows employers to fire without explanation newly hired workers under the age of 26 within two years.

    They said the law infringes workers' rights, making it harder for young people to get long-term employment.

    French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said through a nationwide televised broadcast on Sunday that the law would come into effect as planned, but he promised new "guarantees" over training and severance pay.

    France has one of Europe's highest youth unemployment rates, with 23 percent of the country's young adults out of work and about 40 percent in some of the poor high-immigration city suburbs jobless. Enditem