(MENAFN- AFP) Prosecutors on Wednesday called for suspended jail terms of between two and five months against five Air France workers accused of being "thugs" who assaulted executives over planned layoffs.
Captured on camera, the so-called "shirt-ripping" attack made headlines around the world, highlighting the tensions in France's labour relations.
On the second day of a trial in the northeastern Paris suburbs, prosecutor Philippe Bourion said the attack had been perpetrated by "thugs".
"It was not something that was carried out by trade unions, (but) by troublemakers and, ultimately, thugs," he said.
The incident occurred on October 5 2015 at the French airline's headquarters at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport, when management unveiled a restructuring plan, entailing the loss of 2,900 jobs, to workforce representatives.
More than 2,000 workers staged an angry protest rally outside, and about a hundred of them broke through the main gate and headed toward the conference room.
One executive was left naked to the waist and had to climb over a perimeter fence to escape the hostile crowd. Another was escorted to safety by security guards with his shirt and jacket ripped.
Bourion called for a four-month suspended term for one of the defendants, Fabrice Lhermitte, and three months for Pascal Maquet, Samir Ait Taleb and Vincent Martinez, a representative of the personnel.
He requested a two-month term against a fifth defendant, Cedric Errin.
The five, charged with "organised violence," face potential terms of three years in jail and a 45,000-euro ($51,000) fine.
Four of the five were fired after the incident, including Martinez.
Bourion called for fines of 1,000 euros against 10 other defendants accused of criminal damage.
- Shock images -
Images of what looked like a mob assault had a traumatic effect in France.
The incident occurred amid a PR campaign by the Socialist government to portray France as a stable country for foreign investment.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls branded the defendants "rogues" and said they should be given stiff sentences.
Sympathisers for the defendants included leftwingers within the Socialist Party.
They argued the assailants had been driven by despair and dread of unemployment.
That argument was dismissed by one of Air France's six attorneys, Baudouin de Moucheron, who said there had been a "manhunt".
"Not an ounce of criticism" had been directed at the leftwing CGT trade union, whose members are among the accused and which had refused to disavow the violence, he said.
Defence lawyer Lilia Mhissen said she hoped her clients would "not be judged on the basis of video clips that last a fraction of a second" but on the bigger picture.
At least two of them, she pleaded, had "clearly acted" to protect the two executives, human resources director Xavier Broseta and the director of long-haul operations, Pierre Plissonnier.
Air France, which employs around 55,000 people, scrapped the restructuring plan after the incident but its labour problems continue. Pilots and flight crews staged strikes in late July at the height of the holiday season.
The company's parent, Air France-KLM, returned to profit last year after seven years of losses, but faces stiff competition from Asian and Gulf airlines as well as new, low-cost long-haul alternatives.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.