Ryanair appeals French fine

Aix-en-Provence - Irish budget airline Ryanair on Monday launched an appeal of a court ruling ordering it to pay nearly nine million euros ($12.2m) in damages and interest for breaching French labour laws.

No official from the company was present at the hearing in the southern city of Aix-en-Provence, near where the company operated a facility at Marignane.

A court in October ordered the damages and also fined the company €200 000 after ruling that Ryanair illegally gave locally based staff Irish contracts to save money on payroll and other taxes.

It also ruled that Ryanair had prevented workplace councils from functioning and hampered access to unions.

Social payroll charges in France are pegged at between 40-45%, against only 10.75% in Ireland, and the court accused the airline of creating a "situation of unfair competition".

If upheld on appeal, the damages will have to be paid to France's social security system, the state pension fund and unions representing airline workers, all of whom were plaintiffs in the action against Ryanair.