French President Emmanuel Macron waded into a heated debate about executive salaries on Friday, describing as “shocking and excessive” the €19 million pay packet of the head of carmaker Stellantis.
Macron, who is campaigning against far-right leader Marine Le Pen to hold onto the presidency at the ballot box on April 24, told Franceinfo radio that he was in favour of an EU-wide ceiling for top executives’ pay.
“We need to fight at a European level so that remuneration can’t be excessive,” he said. “We need to set ceilings and have governance for Europe that make these things acceptable. If not, society will explode at any given moment,” Macron said. “People can’t be facing purchasing power problems... and then see these sorts of sums.”
People can’t be facing purchasing power problems... and then see these sorts of sums- French President Emmanuel Macron
Debate is currently raging over the €19 million payout for Stellantis chief executive Carlos Tavares for last year, when French carmaker PSA merged with Italian-US rival Fiat Chrysler to form Stellantis, the world’s fourth-biggest carmaker.
Beyond his base salary of two million euros, Tavares is to receive €7.5 million in performance-based pay, €2.4 million in retirement contributions and a €1.7-million bonus related to the success of the merger. He will also receive €5.6 million worth of company shares, according to Stellantis.
“These sorts of sums are astronomic,” Macron said. “We need to do what we’ve done with minimum tax rates and the fight against tax evasion. We need to convince our European partners to bring about a reform that will provide a framework for executive pay.”
Earlier this week, French government spokesman Gabriel Attal characterised Tavares’ renumeration as “obviously not normal figures”.
Le Pen, who is facing off against Macron in the second and final round of the presidential election on April 24, has also been drawn into the debate. “It’s shocking, but less shocking than for others,” she said, adding: “For once he obtained good results”.