FILE PHOTO: French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire attends a news conference at the Bercy Finance Ministry in Paris, France, August 30, 2018. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo

PARIS (Reuters) - France has no plans for now to sell its stake in Air France-KLM AIRF.PA and the priority is to increase the competitiveness of the group's French unit, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday.

Le Maire was responding to comments made by Air France-KLM’s new chief executive, Canadian Benjamin Smith, who told the Financial Times in an interview published on Thursday that the French state was prepared to sell its 14 percent stake.

“That is not one of the options on the table today,” Le Maire told franceinfo radio.