Hollande condemns ‘unacceptable’ Air France violence

Among those at today’s protest was Yves Porte, an activist who represents cargo workers.

Appearing at a press conference later – with a new shirt – Mr Broseta, 48, said: “This behaviour is not the true face of Air France”.

As the Air France executives detailed the latest restructuring plan, union activists swarmed into the room, waving flags and chanting protests…

Airline executives told reporters Monday the plan involves laying off 2,900 staff, abolishing five routes and 35 weekly long-haul flights, primarily in Asia and the Middle East.

The redundancies, part of a broader restructuring, are the first at Air France since the early 1990s.

Valls called for transactions to proceed between the carrier and its staff, and said the administration upheld Air France’s administration in its endeavors to pivot the organization.

A legal investigation has already been opened about the incident, with Air France lodging a complaint over aggravated violence. Another executive, Pierre Plissonnier, who is responsible for the long-haul flight division, had his shirt and jacket torn.

Air France was expected to present the full details of the job cuts before its central committee at Charles de Gaulle airport on Monday morning, before the meeting was disrupted and descended into chaos.

Air France merged with Dutch airline KLM 11 years ago and now needs to save 1.8 billion Euros over a period of 2 years. The company also planned to reduce its fleet by 14 jets and eliminate several long haul flights.

The airline is struggling in the teeth of fierce competition from global rivals and had sought to win pilots’ agreement to fly 100 more hours annually for the same salary, a request rejected as an effective pay cut.

The airline’s human resources and labor relations chief Xavier Broseta had his shirt ripped off and his tie hanging from his neck as he battled through crowds of workers, a few of whom shouted “clothes off”.

Unions blasted management on Friday for pressing ahead with a revised plan after carrying out a “parody” of negotiations.

Deputy HR director Broseta later said he was “shocked and disappointed” but insisted “what we saw this morning is not typical of company staff”.