Two senior Air France executives were attacked by employee protesters as they attempted to leave a meeting about job cuts. The men had their clothing torn from their bodies, and they were forced to climb a fence to flee the angry mob.
The Guardian reports that tension between Air France employees and management has been on the rise, as news of impending job cuts spread this past weekend. As senior management met to finalize a restructuring plan, roughly 100 employees of the French airline broke through barriers and forced the meeting to end early.
Some Air France executives were able to escape unscathed, but at least two had to wade through the crowd of angry protesters. Video shows security personnel escorting two men, Pierre Plissonnier and Xavier Broseta, when the protesters suddenly broke through.
Plissonnier and Broseta had their clothes torn from their bodies as the security personnel attempted to escort them to safety. Ultimately, the men were forced to flee by climbing over a fence, with the help of security personnel and local police.
Fortune reports that Frédéric Gagey slipped out of the meeting before the employee protesters closed in. Broseta, director of human resources for Air France, wasn’t so lucky. By the time he was able to escape, the protesters had torn all the clothes from his upper body, leaving him with nothing but a tie.
According to Reuters , Broseta, Plissonnier, Gagey, and other top brass had convened at Air France headquarters to finalize a series of job cuts. Reuters reports that the plan would cut 2,900 jobs by 2017, retire certain planes from the airline’s long-haul fleet, and cancel standing orders for new Boeing jetliners.
The plan, which would cut ground crew, cabin crew, and pilot jobs, follows Air France’s failure earlier this year to convince pilots to accept a deal that would have had them working longer hours.
Reuters reports that trade unions representing Air France ground staff accepted that earlier deal, while pilots for the airline rejected it and initiated a costly strike.
Air France, the French government, and even the unions have all issued statements condemning the actions of the employees that took their protest too far.
Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron tweeted his support for Air France.
#AirFrance Soutien total aux personnes agressées. Ceux qui ont mené ces violences sont irresponsables, rien ne remplace le dialogue social.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 5, 2015
According to France 24 , the tweet confirms Macron’s support for the victims of the attack and condemns the protesters, saying “Those who led the violence are irresponsible, dialogue is the only way forward.”
France 24 also reports that French Prime Minister Manuel Valls also spoke out in support of the airline. “The company is confronting a difficult situation, but nothing can ever justify these kinds of reactions.”
The involved unions also condemned the action, but not everyone sees the Air France employee protesters in such a negative light. According to France 24 , Paris Councilman and Communist Party member Ian Brossat came to the defense of the protesters.
“Unbelievable, some people show more compassion for a ripped dress shirt than for 2,900 workers who are going to find themselves jobless.”
Air France, and a number of other European airlines, are currently struggling to make profits in the face of low cost alternatives, and the job cuts are yet another attempt to make up the difference.
According to the International Business Times , General Confederation of Labor Trade Union boss Philippe Martinez doesn’t think that the job cuts will fix anything.
“For several years now, successive heads of Air France have suggested rescue plans. Each time, it’s a bottomless pit with the same suggestions. I believe they’re trying to set one lot against the other. We need a real expert appraisal of the situation.”
Do you think that the employee protesters were justified in physically attacking Air France executives over the issue of job cuts?
[Photos by Screen Capture/ YouTube ]
