The French government was forced to reiterate its commitment to Air France-KLM today after the airline group’s new chief executive Benjamin Smith warned in a newspaper interview that the state was prepared to offload its shares.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Smith, who was previously chief operating officer at Air Canada, said French president Emmanuel Macron was prepared to sell the government’s 14% stake, so labour unions should not rely on the government to bail out the airline.
However, France’s finance minister Bruno Le Maire said this morning that the government had not plans for now to sell off its shares. "Today the priority is to turn around Air France," he told franceinfo. "Selling off the state’s stake in Air France is not part of Benjamin Smith’s action plan. It is not an option on the table today."
Smith joined Air France-KLM 10 days ago following strikes last spring that cost the airline more than £300 million and led to the departure of his predecessor Jean-Marc Janaillac in May
