PARIS, March 31 (XINHUA) -- French President Jacques Chirac said Friday he would sign into law the First Employment Contract, a controversial youth jobs contract, but promised to modify its provisions.

    In a long-awaited television address, Chirac said he had decided to promulgate the law because it had been duly voted through parliament and also because he "believed the First Employment Contract (CPE) can be an effective tool for employment." France's Constitutional Council approved the CPE Thursday.

    Chirac also said he had "heard the anxieties that are being expressed by many young people and their parents", and that is why he has "asked the government to immediately prepare two modifications to the law on the points which have been at the heart of the debate".

    "The (trial) period of two years shall be reduced to one year. And if the contract is broken, the right of the young worker to know the reasons shall be written into the new law," he promised.

    Unions and student groups which have led weeks of protest against the CPE rejected Chirac's call for dialogue and said they would pursue plans for another day of strikes and demonstrations next week.

    Three weeks of escalating strikes and demonstrations reached a new high Tuesday when between one million and three million people marched in streets across the country.

    Public transport, schools, post offices and banks have all been disturbed by the strike, and no newspapers were delivered. According to unions, some 5 million public servants and private employees were mobilized in the national strike on Tuesday.

    More than 200 trouble-makers were arrested Tuesday in Paris and more than 387 arrests across the country were reported after violent incidents in cities including Rennes and Grenoble.

    The strikes have also led to serious disturbances in 60 of the country's 84 universities and some 25 percent of the country's 4,370 high schools till Tuesday, according to the French Education Ministry. Enditem