Paris, March 29 (Reuters): Did French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin drop an unwitting hint he is considering resigning when he made a verbal slip in parliament today during questions over his contentious youth jobs plan?

Amid feverish speculation that he could resign if forced to back down over his CPE youth jobs contract, Villepin told a lively session of parliament: “Let’s wait for the Constitutional Council which will make its resignation tomorrow.”

To jeers from the Opposition, Villepin corrected himself, replacing the French word “demission” ? which means resignation ? with “decision”.

The council is expected to rule tomorrow on whether the CPE breaches France’s basic law after a challenge by lawmakers.