Jacques Chirac, the French president, has been issued a deadline of April 15 to Scrapping the law could be the last nail in the coffin for Villepin's premiership. His authority is under heavy public pressure, the government has suffered sliding poll ratings, and his arch rival, Nicolas Sarkozy - interior minister and the main conservative rival for the 2007 presidential elections - is gaining political capital from Villepin's misfortune. Union leaders held talks with conservative legislators after Chirac last week effectively took Villepin off the case and promised parliamentary amendments to soften the "easy hire, easy fire" law in the euro zone's second-largest economy.