bosses' behavior". On April 28, 2006 a local labour court (conseil des prud'hommes) ruled the two-year "fire at will" period "unreasonable" and contrary to convention umber 158 of the International Labour Organization (ratified by France), which states that an employee "cannot be fired without any legitimate motive...before offering him the possibility to defend himself". Impact In April 2006, estimates of the number of CNE employees varied from 320,000 (ACOSS governmental numbers ) to 400,000 (Les Echos economical newspaper's numbers ). According to IFOP, a polling company headed by Laurence Parisot (leader of the MEDEF employers' union), 29 percent of CNE jobs would not have existed without the CNE (in other words, from 106,000 to 133,000 CNE jobs would not have been filled during its first seven months). This poll was used to confirm Villepin's claim that "a third of the jobs" would not have been created otherwise. This contradicted an INSEE (National Institute of Statistics) estimate that it would create (at most) 40,000 to 80,000 jobs a year. In May 2006, Prime Minister de Villepin said that "almost 500,000 contracts" were signed. In June 2006, Echos released the first CNE study based on actual figures. According to this study: 440,000 CNE contracts were signed from August 2005 to April 2006. 10 percent (44,000) were for jobs which would not have existed without the CNE. The 44,000 jobs compares with the 50,000 long-term private-sector jobs created in France in 2005. Over 11% of contracts were cancelled within the two-year probation period. More CNEs were cancelled by employees (45 percent) than by employers (38 percent). According to Echos, the CNE created nearly as many jobs in 10 months as the private sector did for all of 2005 (about 50,000). INSEE and ACOSS The French National Institute for Statistics (INSEE) calculated a lower number, estimating that CNEs will create a net 10,000 to 20,000 jobs each trimester (40,000 to 80,000 jobs per year). The impact of CNEs has been questioned by Le Canard enchaîné, which quoted the INSEE study, the ANPE's records and trade unions. Since the more-recent First Employment Contract (CPE) was rejected after months of protest, unions have also been trying to cancel the CNE. On the other hand, employers' unions (Medef) consider it a major reform. The Canard Enchaîné said that the governmental ACOSS numbers (400,000 contracts) was an inflated estimate. ACOSS later reduced the figure by 20 percent, to