Macron demands answers over Dutch purchase of Air France-KLM stake
French President Emmanuel Macron demanded on Wednesday that the Dutch government “clarify its intentions” over a surprise move by The Hague to buy up shares of Franco-Dutch airline Air France-KLM.
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Macron said that Paris had not been told about the decision by the Dutch government to up its stake in the carrier and called on the Netherlands to “clarify” its intentions.
“What matters is that the interests of the company are preserved,” said Macron, according to the AFP news agency.
A source close to the matter told AFP that an exceptional meeting of Air France-KLM’s board of directors had been called on Wednesday.
French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire described the Dutch move as “unfriendly” and more akin to the sort of tactics employed by a “trader” rather than a state.
The Air France CFDT trade union said the Dutch move was done “on the sly” and the government in the Netherlands “intends to influence strategic choices”.
Bernard Garbiso, secretary general of CFE-CGC, an Air France trade union, said it amounted to “a certain Dutch chauvinism”, according to AFP.
Social media users in France and the Netherlands reacted strongly to the news.
Jelle Leenes said on Twitter that the French “must stop complaining”, pointing out that the French state had long since promised to sell its stake in the commercial airline, but not kept its promise.
De #Fransen zijn weer eens verongelijkt. Ze willen opheldering over de #aandelen aankoop door die #gelehesjes bij de @KLM in de regering in #Nederland. Maar hoe lang beloven ze zelf niet al hun staatsbelang in #AirFranceKLM te verkopen? Vele jaren toch? Niet zeuren dus! pic.twitter.com/0qEJ0zxPbG
Jelle Leenes (@jelleleenes) February 27, 2019
French Twitter user Kentaing said Macron and Le Maire could retaliate by buying a stake in Rotterdam port in order to protect the interests of French ports.
Cher @EmmanueIMacaron @BrunoLeMaire si vous souhaitez riposter, je vous invite à entrer au capital de l’Autorité Portuaire de Rotterdam, au motif de vouloir peser dans les décisions s pour protéger nos intérêts nationaux (Le Havre, Ouistreham, Calais, Roscoff...) 😉#AirfranceKLM
Kentaing 😋 (@Q_K__) February 27, 2019
Other French social media posters suggested that KLM actually generates much more profit than Air France and staff spend less time on strike.
Cher @EmmanueIMacaron @BrunoLeMaire si vous souhaitez riposter, je vous invite à entrer au capital de l’Autorité Portuaire de Rotterdam, au motif de vouloir peser dans les décisions s pour protéger nos intérêts nationaux (Le Havre, Ouistreham, Calais, Roscoff...) 😉#AirfranceKLM
Kentaing 😋 (@Q_K__) February 27, 2019
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