Three get suspended jail sentences in Air France shirt-ripping trial

'This closes a sorry chapter': Airline

PARIS (Reuters) — Suspended prison sentences of three to four months where handed down on Wednesday to three people found guilty of violent conduct when Air France executives had their shirts ripped to shreds last year by employees furious over planned job cuts.

The images of the attacks on the Air France managers made headlines in October 2015 and drew condemnation across France's political and business classes.

Video footage broadcast worldwide at the time showed Air France executive Xavier Broseta stumbling to the ground, his shirt in tatters, as he and another executive fled angry employees, scaling a metal fence to escape.

"This closes a sorry chapter," the airline said in a statement on Wednesday, welcoming the ruling which it said underlined that violence of any kind was unacceptable.

The incident took place when Air France managers presented plans to cut 2,900 jobs and pull the airline out of 10 percent of its long-haul routes.

"This image hurts our country," Prime Minister Manuel Valls said at the time.

The court acquitted two others of charges of violence, but fined 10 others for damage to property during the incident. The fines of 500 euros ($532) each were half the amount a state prosecutor had sought.

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