Six arrested after Air France demo over job losses

The four men arrested work for the Cargo Air France division but are not elected union officials, one of the sources said.

According to police sources, the men were arrested on the basis of witness testimony and video recordings of the incident a week earlier. Company security guards pulled the managers from the melee with their suit jackets and shirts ripped to shreds as the crowd waved union banners and shouted. At least ten complaints have been filed against the protestors, including from security guards and executives who were present at the scene. The suspects, whose identify wasn’t revealed, face up to five years of jail and fines.

Parent firm Air France-KLM said last week it would take legal action over the protesters’ “aggregated violence”. On long-haul flights, carriers based in the Persian Gulf such as Emirates Airline have also grabbed market share on flights between Europe and Asia.

“We are fighting every day for an Air France that will have lasting growth”, Broseta himself said after the incident.

Air France, once a proud symbol of French elegance and technical know-how, is struggling to compete in the face of intense competition from global rivals, including Germany’s Lufthansa and the combined forces of British Airways and Iberia in Europe.

The detained men have received the backing from their labor union.

Several hundred employees disrupted a meeting on October 5 at Air France’s headquarters near Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport while executives were detailing plans to lay off 2,900 workers as part of cost-cutting measures.

The results contrasted with a poll published by i-Tele channel late Friday, in which 67% said the attacks on the executives were “inexcusable”.