Air France workers protest at migrant expulsions

Workers from Air France demonstrated outside the company's shareholders' meeting last month in protest at the policy of allowing Air France planes to be used for expulsions of undocumented migrants from France.

The demonstrations follow a unanimous decision taken by the company's central works council, which includes representatives from four of France's five major union confederations, asking the company to call for an end to the expulsions. Other unions, not represented on the central works council backed the call.

As Mahmadou Bathil from the CFTC, one of the unions involved, explained, the people being expelled are "tied-up, taped and gagged. It's time to say stop". The works council points out that there have already been cases where other passengers have objected to the treatment of the migrants being returned and have then faced legal action for interfering with the flight. "Cabin crew and passengers are forced to be witnesses to scenes of extreme violence," their statement says.

Brice Hortefeux, the French immigration minister has responded saying that only 4.6% of the 6,000 expulsions by air between January and May 2007 had produced "difficulties". But in the view of Ali Bouzara of the CFDT union confederation, "the staff will no longer put up with these shocking scenes of violence, particularly when there are children involved".