PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron waded into a heated debate about executive salaries on Friday, describing as "shocking and excessive" the 19-million-euro ($21-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," said Macron.
"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."
Debate is currently raging over the 19-million-euro 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 automaker.
Beyond his base salary of two million euros, Tavares is to receive 7.5 million euros in performance-based pay, 2.4 million euros in retirement contributions and a 1.7-million-euro bonus related to the success of the merger.
He will also receive 5.6 million euros' worth of company shares, according to Stellantis.
"These sorts of sums are astronomical," said Macron, who earned nearly 2.4 million euros during his time as a banker at Rothschild between 2011 and 2012.
"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."
Stellantis declined to react to Macron's comments, but it noted that PSA went "from near bankruptcy to the rank of industry leader in its sector at the global level" thanks to the merger, which Tavares helped to achieve.
Tavares's pay, it added, depends on results and remains lower than that of his US peers at GM or Ford.
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 earlier this week, adding: "For once he obtained good results". - AFP
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