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PARIS. — French President François Hollande condemned yesterday the violent protests by Air France staff at plans to slash thousands of jobs, saying it damaged the country’s image.
“Labour talks are important. And when they are disrupted by violence, by disputes that take unacceptable forms, we see that it can have consequences on (France’s) image,” Hollande said at the inauguration of a naval school in the northern city of Le Havre yesterday. The French president called for “peaceful negotiations”, stressing the need for “a dialogue between responsible employers . . . and responsible unions”.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls also condemned the violence yesterday during a specially arranged visit to Air France’s headquarters near the Charles de Gaulle airport outside of Paris. “It would be a drama for our country if a business so symbolic were to find itself in trouble because a minority refuses to adapt to a changing world,” he said. Hollande and Valls’ comments came a day after hundreds of angry Air France workers stormed a meeting to discuss mass job cuts at the company’s headquarters, resulting in two executives being forced to flee with the shirts ripped off their backs.
The violence erupted shortly after Air France executives informed the company’s central committee that 2 900 jobs would be slashed by 2017 as part of a vast cost-cutting programme aimed at making the airline more competitive.
Air France, part of the Franco-Dutch Air France-KLM group, reported losses of 619 million Euros in the first half of 2015 and has overall debt of around 5.4 billion Euros.
Air France’s financial troubles have sparked speculation over its future as the country’s flag-carrier. — France24.
Online Reporter