Maurizio Prato told the unions that Alitalia could easily go bankrupt if they did not accept the Air France deal and he is reported to have said: "This company is cursed: only an exorcist can save it."
The government of Italy has been trying for over a year to sell its 49.9% share in Alitalia and says that besides Air France-KLM there were no more bidders interested in taking it on.
On Wednesday, Italian Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa claimed that now the Air France-KLM offer is no more all that can be done is to put Alitalia under emergency administration.
Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa added that a 300m euro ($470m; £236m) bridging loan to Alitalia would no longer be an option unless the Air France-KLM deal had been agreed on.
