French govt urges Air France to pursue reforms as strikes bite

The French finance minister Sunday raised the pressure on Air France managers and unions to resolve a stand-off over wages, saying the govt would not ride to the carrier's rescue as it grapples with worker strikes and a leadership vacuum. The dispute at Air France-KLM's French arm intensified Friday when staff rejected a pay deal, prompting the group's CE to resign. Finance minister Bruno Le Maire urged the company and workers to resume talks, delivering a blunt assessment of the airline's future as he warned the state's 14% Air France-KLM stake was no guarantee it would pick up the pieces. "If Air France does not make efforts to become more competitive, allowing this flagship to be at the same level at Lufthansa and other airline companies, Air France will disappear," Le Maire said. <br/>