This whole doom and gloom business is getting a bit out of hand. The american majors (a significant part of the market) have much improved their terms and conditions. Pay in China (if you can get in) is eye watering. There are jobs being created left right and centre. A major problem in the middle east is a shortage of pilots not pay.
Air France is hardly the poster child for moving with the times. They are in a classic squeeze between the low cost carriers at one end and new more innovative airlines creaming off the top end. If they do not react everyone can see they are in big trouble.
We will see how things develop. But I doubt if the pilot union leaders are particularly happy with how things played out yesterday. By the way I rather doubt that the mob had much to do with the pilots. Although it might be argued that their actions last year lit the fuse.
The vast majority of the job losses are outside the cockpit and they are the ones most upset. Although it might be fair to include a whole generation of young french pilots whose chances of a career with their state carrier look ever less likely.